HEALTH

Acrylamide

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent guidance the Chief Medical Officer has issued to the public regarding the incidence of acrylamide in baked and fried food.

Melanie Johnson: Following the discovery of acrylamide in a range of foods, the Food Standards Agency advises that people should continue to eat a balanced diet including moderating their consumption of fried and fatty foods. The Agency continues to review this advice as further information on acrylamide becomes available.

Prostate Cancer

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's strategy is for tackling prostate cancer.

Melanie Johnson: Good progress has been made since we published the Prostate Cancer Programme in September 2000. £4.2 million will be spent on research in 2003–04, the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme has been launched, and the Prostate Cancer Advisory Group has been established to take forward policy on prostate cancer.

Nurses

Marion Roe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on retention of nurses.

John Hutton: The Government are implementing a range of measures to retain more nurses. These include increasing the health care workforce, improving pay and conditions, encouraging the NHS to become a better, more flexible and diverse employer, investing in child care and continuing professional development, tackling violence and creating safe and healthy working environments.

Nurses

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the recruitment and retention of nurses.

John Hutton: The Government are implementing a range of measures to recruit more health care professionals. These include improving pay and conditions, encouraging the NHS to become a better, more flexible and diverse employer, increasing training, investing in child care and continuing professional development, attracting back returners and running national and international recruitment campaigns.

Acute Hospitals

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the overall capacity of the acute hospital sector in Worcestershire.

Stephen Ladyman: Significant investment has been made available nationally to accommodate the required increase in national health service capacity. Primary Care Trust revenue allocations for the three Worcestershire PCTs will rise to £426 million in 2003–04 and will reach £510 million by 2005–06, an overall total increase of 30.4 per cent., for the three years up to 2005–06.
	Prior to the completion of the Worcestershire Royal hospital there were 1,035 acute beds in Worcestershire. Since the opening of the new hospital there are 1,044 acute beds available in the county.

Patient Environment Action Team Programme

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the patient environment action team programme.

John Hutton: We have recently worked with a larger number of NHS colleagues to refine the PEAT process in the light of experience to date. This review confirmed that the system has been a major factor in ensuring that all hospitals meet acceptable standards or better in terms of the patient environment. The NHS is to be congratulated for the progress it has made. The PEAT programme has been extended to include Mental Health and Accident and Emergency units, demonstrating the importance we continue to attach to this, and the need for the NHS to continue to focus on high standards.

Infection Prevention

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to prevent patients from catching infections in health care settings.

Melanie Johnson: We already have standards to ensure there is a managed environment which minimises the risk of infection to patients, staff and visitors. Hospitals' performance against these has improved over the last three years. For the first time this year these standards and an MRSA improvement score contributed to the star ratings. The Chief Medical Officer is leading a new initiative to produce a longer-term strategy to reduce health care associated infections.

Locum Consultants

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on locum consultants in the NHS in the last year for which figures are available.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Hospital Building Programme

James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the hospital building programme.

John Hutton: Since 2000, 39 hospitals have been opened, and a further 18 are being built. There are 54 hospitals in procurement through the private finance initiative process. This is the biggest hospital building programme in the history of the NHS, replacing old and outmoded buildings with facilities fit for the 21st Century.

Atkinson Morley Hospital

Roger Casale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the disposal of the Atkinson Morley hospital site in Wimbledon.

John Hutton: I have received no representations. However, I am aware that St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust has recently submitted a planning application for redevelopment of the Atkinson Morley hospital site, the Firs Nursing Home and a large area of open space, following the reprovision of services at St. George's hospital, Tooting.
	The proposed development comprises 149 residential units accessed from Copse Hill and associated car parking.

People with Communication Difficulties

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice the Department has given to (a) Government Departments and (b) others who consult with people who have communication difficulties about how that consultation should be carried out.

John Hutton: The Department of Health has not issued formal guidance.

NHS Dentistry

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to control the levels of charging for (a) repairing teeth from mottling and (b) other cosmetic dental work by NHS dentists.

Rosie Winterton: All dental treatment necessary to secure and maintain oral health is available under the national health service, including the facing of upper front teeth with porcelain veneers to correct teeth mottling. Patients liable to pay NHS dental charges will pay 80 per cent. of the NHS fee paid to the dentists for the service.

Tuberculosis

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will discuss trends in the incidence of tuberculosis with the World Health Organisation.

Stephen Ladyman: Colleagues in the Department and at the Health Protection Agency are regularly invited to speak at and attend World Health Organisation conferences on tuberculosis.
	We provide on a regular basis, trends of TB in this country as well as receiving information from the WHO on trends from other countries.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Domestic Violence

Stephen Byers: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he will take to increase the provision of accommodation available to women victims of domestic violence.

Yvette Cooper: The Government are committed to increasing the full range of accommodation options for victims of domestic violence including more refuges and better help to support victims to stay in their own homes if appropriate. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is investing £8.9 million this financial year in refuge provision and an additional £9.9 million has been allocated by the Housing Corporation. The money is being used by Registered Social Landlords, in partnership with local refuge providers and local authorities to provide 273 units of accommodation in all regions in England. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also committed £7 million in each of the next two financial years towards similar projects which will also be administered through the Housing Corporation.
	In addition, the Supporting People programme enables local authorities to provide housing related support services for victims of domestic violence. This year £34 million has been allocated to domestic violence schemes including accommodation and non-accommodation based services.
	Domestic violence can be a significant cause of homelessness. Under the homelessness legislation, people who are vulnerable as a result of fleeing their home because of violence (including domestic violence) have a priority need for accommodation. Moreover, all local housing authorities in England are now required to have a strategy for preventing homelessness in the district and ensuring that accommodation and any necessary support are available for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. All authorities were required to have a homelessness strategy in place by 30 July 2003. The Homelessness Directorate is providing £260 million between 2003–04 and 2005–06 in support of local housing authorities' efforts to tackle homelessness. A number of authorities are using this funding to improve the support available to victims of domestic violence in order to prevent homelessness among this client group.

Home Loss Payments

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was previously allocated in 2002–03 to home loss payments in compulsory purchase; how much this has been increased as a result of the Government announcement in July; and whether similar changes have been made to farm loss payments.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not have a central fund allocated for these purposes. Acquiring authorities are liable for the costs incurred arising from compulsory purchase and would be expected to fund this through their respective budgets.

Housing

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he (a) records and (b) acts upon housing affordability data.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister records a wide variety of data on housing, including affordability issues, which provide an essential underpinning to policy development. Through the Housing Corporation the Government finances housing for those who are unable to purchase their own home. More generally, as part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's drive to create sustainable communities, we are working to improve the supply of housing in those regions where high demand is causing prices to rise beyond the reach of those on modest incomes. Regional Housing Strategies, produced for the first time this year, which will be considered, are important in highlighting problems of affordability at regional and sub-regional level. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be taking account of these, in my decisions on the allocation of housing resources, later this year.

Local Government Finance

Christopher Chope: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to permit local authorities to limit annual increases in council tax for pensioners to the rate of inflation; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: Subject to parliamentary approval, the Local Government Bill will allow local billing authorities to introduce locally defined council tax discounts from 2004–05. This power could be used by local billing authorities to create a discount which would have the effect of limiting council tax increases for pensioners.

Playing Fields

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the latest estimate is of the total gross receipts for each year since 1997, from land sold under general consent orders; and what percentage of those receipts relate to the sale of playing fields;
	(2)  if he will list each of the playing fields, broken down by local authority, which have been disposed of under general consent orders.

Keith Hill: The Information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Local authorities are given powers under the Local Government Act 1972 to dispose of land in any manner they wish. The disposal must be for the best consideration reasonably obtainable, unless the Secretary of State consents to the disposal. General consents have been issued so that local authorities can, in certain circumstances, dispose of land for less than the market value without having to apply to the Secretary of State for specific consent. However, the Local Government Act 1972 requires local authorities proposing to dispose of open space that is used for public recreation to advertise their intentions in a local newspaper and consider any objections received.

PRIME MINISTER

Engagements

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister what his official engagements were for Sunday 9 March.

Tony Blair: None.

Iraq

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral Answer of 10 September 2003, Official Report, column 322, on Iraq, on which occasions the Chief of the Defence staff before the outbreak of war expressed concerns about the legality of what the armed forces were being asked to do; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: It is part of the Chief of the Defence Staff's duty of care over members of Her Majesty's armed forces that he satisfies himself with the legality of any operation to which they may be committed. As I said to my hon. Friend at Prime Minister's Questions on 10 September 2003, Official Report, column 322, the Chiefs of Staff on no occasion expressed to me any unease. Lord Boyce was entirely content with the legal basis for the recent conflict in Iraq. This was set out by my right hon. and noble Friend the Attorney-General on 17 March 2003, Official Report, House of Lords, columns 2–3WA.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Computer Security

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been (a) budgeted and (b) spent by her Department since April 2002 on (i) combating computer fraud, (ii) preventing theft of computers and (iii) safeguarding the security of information held on computer; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Department manages the security of its information, including information held on its computers systems, in accordance with the guidance given in the Manual of Protective Security, a comprehensive body of policy and interdepartmentally agreed security standards issued by the Cabinet Office. From this guidance, we employ a range of measures to protect physical, computer and information assets. These measures are reviewed according to specific project requirements and as circumstances and technology changes require. All aspects of security (physical, personnel, procedural, information and IT) are inextricably linked and it is therefore not possible to provide a budget breakdown for IT related aspects only.

LANTRA

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the role of LANTRA, with specific reference to how it is encouraging employment opportunities for (a) environmental organisations and (b) the land-based sector.

Alun Michael: LANTRA's role as the Sector Skills Council for environmental and land-based industries is to support employers and employees in the sector to identify, acquire and use the skills needed to raise productivity and to deliver sustainable development. Sector Skills Councils have a key role in delivering the Government's Skills Strategy set out in the White Paper "21st Century Skills: Realising our Potential" (Cm 5810). LANTRA'S strategic and business plans set out in detail how the organisation will deliver these objectives for the environmental and land-based sector.

Rural Development Fund

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the application procedures for rural development funds.

Alun Michael: Rural development funds are made available through grant schemes under the England Rural Development Programme, which was launched in October 2000. Application procedures have been kept under continual review, and changes made to benefit applicants and improve administrative efficiency.
	Significant further improvements are also in development. In the short term, a fast-track appraisal process was piloted recently for applications seeking less than £15,000 under the Rural Enterprise Scheme. The indications are that such an approach can substantially reduce the time taken to confirm the decision over an award of grant and we hope to introduce new arrangements generally, over the coming months. For the longer term, we are engaged in a major programme to improve ERDP delivery radically, and support the delivery of new agri-environment schemes. These benefits, facilitated in part by a completely new IT system, will begin to come on stream in early 2005.

Rural Payments Agency

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the Rural Payments Agency; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State agreed to the creation of the Rural Payments Agency on 16 October 2001.
	The Rural Payments Agency's second Annual Report and Accounts, which records performance against the Agency's key performance targets, as set by the Secretary of State, will be laid before Parliament shortly.
	An Ownership Board chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs meets quarterly to monitor the performance of the Agency, on behalf of the Secretary of State. In addition, I receive weekly progress reports, as the Rural Payments Agency is part of my ministerial portfolio. I also monitor the response to issues raised by MPs and discuss relevant issues with the Agency.

Vocational Training

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with representatives of further and higher education on the potential for delivering vocational training in rural areas.

Alun Michael: I frequently meet people engaged in providing all forms of learning in rural areas in the course of visits and meetings around the country. The Department's Learning Skills and Knowledge Review is looking specifically at the need for vocational training in rural areas and how that need can be met. Representatives of further and higher education are on the steering group for the review.

Water Pollution

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers water companies have to stop (a) companies and (b) residential properties discharging pollutants into waterways.

Elliot Morley: Water companies do not have any powers to stop companies or residential properties discharging pollutants into waterways. Their responsibility, under the Water Industry Act 1991, is to regulate trade effluent discharges made to public sewers.
	Responsibility for controlling discharges to waterways belongs to the Environment Agency (the Agency). Under section 85 of the Water Resources Act 1991 (as amended by the Environment Act 1991) it is an offence to cause or knowingly permit polluting matter to enter "controlled waters", that is rivers, estuaries, coastal or groundwaters without permission. This is obtained as a discharge consent granted by the Agency. The Agency sets consent conditions which control volumes and concentrations of particular substances or imposes broader controls on the nature of the effluent. Each consent is based on an objective set by the Agency for the quality of the stretch of water to which the discharge is made as well as taking into account any relevant statutory requirements.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Microsoft (Licensing Fees)

Norman Lamb: To ask the Leader of the House how much was paid to Microsoft in licensing fees by the Office of the Leader of the House in each of the last three years; and how much has been budgeted for (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05.

Peter Hain: In the last three years the Office of the Leader of the House paid no licensing fees directly to Microsoft and has made no separate provision for 2003–4 or 2004–5.
	The IT service for my Office is provided by the Cabinet Office and charged on a per PC basis. Any costs for licence fees are included in the overall IT charges.

Sitting Hours

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House what representations he has received in favour of reverting to the sitting hours of the House of Commons of 2002.

Peter Hain: A number of Members have raised with me their view on the sitting hours—both for and against the change—by raising it in the Chamber, at Business Questions and Oral Questions to the Leader of the House, by letter and in private discussion. I have had no representations from outside Parliament in favour of the House reverting to its former hours. The House has agreed the change for the remainder of this Parliament and will then need to review the matter.

Written Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House what plans he has to propose measures to allow hon. Members to challenge a refusal by a Minister to provide information requested by means of a written parliamentary question.

Peter Hain: Ministers answer questions in accordance with the requirements set out in the Ministerial Code, the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and guidance on disproportionate cost. As the Ministerial Code makes clear, it is for individual Ministers to account for their decisions and actions. If a Member of Parliament is unhappy with the answer received to a parliamentary question, he or she should raise the matter with the relevant Minister. There are no plans to propose changes to current practice.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Parliamentary Works

Michael Fabricant: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what the expected cost is of clearing construction equipment and materials from the precincts of the House prior to the two-week sitting in September and reinstating it at the start of the Conference Adjournment.

Archy Kirkwood: Officials are collating the costs associated with clearing and reinstating construction equipment and materials before and after the September sitting and I will arrange for the hon. Member to receive the figures when they become available.

SCOTLAND

Prohibition Orders

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he plans to amend the powers of the Secretary of State for Scotland to issue prohibition orders in relation to reserved matters; and who will have jurisdiction in determining matters of vires in connection with reserved matters.

Anne McGuire: There are no plans to amend the powers of the Secretary of State under section 35 of the Scotland Act. This gives the Secretary of State the power to make an order prohibiting the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from submitting a Bill for Royal Assent in certain circumstances.
	In terms of section 33 of the Scotland Act the Advocate General, the Lord Advocate or the Attorney General may refer the question of whether a Bill or any provision of a Bill would be within the legislative competence of the Parliament to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for adjudication. The Government published a consultation paper in July, Constitutional Reform: A Supreme Court for the United Kingdom, which seeks views on the proposition that the new Supreme Court should have jurisdiction over devolution cases presently heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Aircraft Carriers

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what role his Department has played in facilitating contact between BAe systems and the Scottish Executive to discuss training requirements for the carrier project.

Anne McGuire: The Scottish Executive has well established contact with BAe Systems and other shipbuilding interests in Scotland in relation to the Future Aircraft Carriers (CVF) programme.
	The Clyde Shipyards Task Force recognised the need to ensure that Scottish shipyards have the necessary skills and infrastructure in place to secure a major role in the CVF programme. Further work to address the training requirements of the shipbuilding industry in Scotland is being taken forward by Scottish Enterprise.

Edinburgh Waverley Station

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he plans to meet (a) Network Rail and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority to discuss the proposed investment at Edinburgh Waverley station.

Alistair Darling: I meet senior representatives of Network Rail and the Strategic Rail Authority on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of railway matters, and will continue to do so.

Air Tranpsort

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his policy is on Scotland increasing its international hub status for air transport.

Anne McGuire: The Government will publish an air transport White Paper later this year which will cover a range of key issues, including the development of air traffic at Scottish airports.

Manufacturing

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many are employed in the manufacturing industry in Scotland; how many were employed in 1997; and if he will make a statement on the proposals for the manufacturing industry in Scotland.

Anne McGuire: The manufacturing sector continues to be very important to the economy of Scotland. Figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate that employment in the manufacturing industry in Scotland was 387,000 at the end of the Spring Quarter of 1997, and 301,000 at the end of the Spring Quarter of 2003.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Apprenticeships and Training

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills regarding the level of apprenticeships and work-related training offered to school leavers.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry works closely with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, meeting regularly to discuss areas of joint interest.
	The recent publication of the Government's national Skills Strategy demonstrates the joint commitment to reforming qualifications and training programmes to meet the needs of employers and to provide clear routes to employability for the learner.
	The joint remit being taken forward by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority with other partners will ensure that learning programmes will enable all young people to develop the skills that employers seek, with programmes of vocational education and training from age 14, and Modern Apprenticeships as the primary vocational option for young people. The Government's target is that by 2004, 28 per cent. of young people will start a Modern Apprenticeship by age 22. The expansion of Foundation Degrees will enable the progression into higher education from vocational programmes. Young people not yet ready to enter a Modern Apprenticeship will be able to join Entry to Employment, to benefit from help in developing basic skills as a means of entering a Modern Apprenticeship or employment.

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many UKAS asbestos surveyors are registered in the UK.

Nigel Griffiths: The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the Health and Safety Executive, which holds the data.

British Energy

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she intends to take in the event that British Energy is unable to reach agreement with its creditors by 30 September.

Stephen Timms: British Energy continues to work on implementing its restructuring plan and the announcement on 11 September of its sale of Amergen was a further step in that process. But, British Energy still needs to work hard to implement the plan in full, and, as we have made clear since last year, the Government is prepared for administration should it fail.

British Energy

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes in the time deadlines originally set for British Energy to sell off its North American assets in the restructuring plan have been made since the plan was announced; and what the reasons are for those changes.

Stephen Timms: With regard to British Energy's 50 per cent. interest in its US joint venture, Amergen, I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, on 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 3WS. British Energy announced on 11 September that it had agreed the sale of its interest in Amergen.
	British Energy completed the sale of its interest in Brace Power within the deadline set out in its restructuring plan.

BSkyB

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will instruct the Office of Fair Trading to reopen its investigation into BSkyB's pricing structure for licensed premises; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: For the Office of Fair Trading to launch an investigation into this matter they must have reasonable grounds to suspect that there has been an infringement of the Competition Act 1998. This is entirely a matter for the Office of Fair Trading to determine.

Building Standards

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are in place to assist people who are victims of poor standards of work by builders; if she will take steps to set up a national list of reputable builders and plumbers; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: The best protection against cowboy builders is not to give work to casual workers that house holders meet in pubs, but rather to use someone reputable and qualified to carry out the work. The Quality Mark scheme has been established in England to achieve quality, and in Scotland the Construction Licensing executive has developed a new registration scheme.

Company Records

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will allow Companies House to amend publicly available company records if a company is subject to a police investigation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Companies Act and not the Secretary of State governs the maintenance of the register of companies. The Companies Act does not allow the registrar to amend publicly available company records if a company is subject to a police investigation.

Company Records

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will require Companies House to amend its website and correspondence material with a disclaimer stating that the reliability of company records cannot be guaranteed.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Companies House has had a disclaimer on its website for a number of years. However, I can confirm that the website has recently been amended to state that information is accepted by Companies House in good faith, and that the fact that it has been placed on the public record should not be taken to indicate that Companies House has validated it in any way. Companies House issues such a wide range and high volume of correspondence material, that it would not be appropriate to annotate it in this way.

Competition Act

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the occasions when she has used her powers under Chapter 1 of the Competition Act 1998 to amend Schedule 3 to that Act; what her reasons for doing so were in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The powers under Chapter 1of the Competition Act 1998 to amend Schedule 3 to that Act have not been exercised.

Competition Act

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the occasions when she has provided an exemption to Chapter 1 of the Competition Act 1998; what her reasons for doing so were in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry provided for an exemption to Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 for public transport ticketing schemes, under the Competition Act (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) Order 2001, SI 2001/319, which came into force on 1 March 2001.
	The Order was made on the recommendation of the Director General of Fair Trading, that the category of agreements concerned were likely to meet the criteria for exemption under section 9 of the Competition Act 1998.

Competition Commission/Competition Appeal Tribunal

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when each of the present members of (a) the Competition Commission and (b) the Competition Appeal Tribunal were appointed; and what procedure was used.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows.
	
		(a) Competition Commission
		
			 Name Date of first appointment 
		
		
			 Morris, Sir D 1 October 1991 
			 Freeman, Mr P 6 May 2003 
			 Geroski, Prof PA 2 March 1998 
			 Kingsmill, Mrs. D 14 April 1997 
			 Trelford, Prof D.G. 11 February 1999 
			 Ahmed, Mr. S 4 March 1999 
			 Gibson, Mr. W 4 March 1999 
			 Holbrook, Mr. G.L. 4 March 1999 
			 Christmas, Ms L.I. 11 February 1999 
			 Hopkirk, Mrs. M.J. 4 March 1999 
			 Pollard, Ms E. 4 March 1999 
			 Wilson, Mr. C.M. 11 February 1999 
			 Klemperer, Prof P. 10 September 2001 
			 Hamlin, Prof A. 10 September 2001 
			 Moizer, Prof P. 10 September 2001 
			 Elks. Mr. L. 10 September 2001 
			 Haskel, Prof J. 10 September 2001 
			 Wilks. Prof S. 10 September 2001 
			 Goodall, Mr. C. 10 September 2001 
			 Stoddart, Mr. P. 10 September 2001 
			 Walzer, Mr. S. 10 September 2001 
			 Holroyd, Mr. R. 10 September 2001 
			 Clarke, Mr. C. 10 September 2001 
			 Collings, Dr. J. 10 September 2001 
			 Gregory, Prof A. 10 September 2001 
			 Prof John Baillie 9 January 2002 
			 Peter Hazell 9 January 2002 
			 Turgoose, Mr. R. 1 February 2002 
			 Lyons, Prof B. 1 July 2002 
			 Rawlinson, Mr. R.A. 5 January 1998 
			 Henderson, Mr. C.E. 5 January 1998 
			 Darke, Mr. C. 2 February 1998 
			 Garthwaite, Mr. N(1) 27 March 2000 
			 Hadley, Mr. G.H.(1) 27 March 2000 
			 Parker, Prof D.(1) 27 March 2000 
			 Webster, Mr. M.(1) 27 March 2000 
			 Seddon, Mr. E.J.(1) 27 March 2000 
			 Young, Mr. A.M.(1) 27 March 2000 
			 Graham, Prof C.(1) 27 March 2000 
			 Smallwood, Mr. C. 10 September 2001 
			 Brown, Mrs. S.E. 1 February 1998 
			 Monck, Dr. E.(1) 27 March 2000 
			 Mills, Dame B. 10 September 2001 
			 Coyle, Ms D. 10 September 2001 
			 Waddams, Prof C. 1 November 2001 
			 Guy, Ms D. 1 December 2001 
			 Rickford, Mr. J. 9 December 1997 
			 Stark, Mr. J.D. 2 March 1998 
			 Shovelton, Mrs. H. 11 December 1997 
			 Garthwaite, Mr. N. 1 June 1998 
			 Hadley, Mr. G.H. 1 June 1998 
			 Macdonald, Mr. N. 1 June 1998 
			 Parker, Prof D. 1 June 1998 
			 Young, Mr. A.M. 1 July 1998 
			 Hadfield, Mr. A. 1 July 1998 
			 Seddon, Mr. E.J. 1 July 1998 
			 Graham, Prof C. 31 March 1999 
			 Monck, Dr. E. 31 March 1999 
			 Foster, Mr. T. 1 September 2003 
		
	
	(1) Specialist panel members also appointed to the reporting panel following a limited competition in 2000.
	
		(b) Competition Appeal Tribunal
		
			 Name Date of first appointment 
		
		
			 Bellamy, Sir C. 16 December 1999 
			 Prosser, Mr. R. 1 March 2000 
			 Colgate, Mr. B. 1 March 2000 
			 Summers, Mr. D.L. 1 March 2000 
			 Pryor, Dr. A.J. 1 March 2000 
			 Clayton, Mr. P. 1 September 2000 
			 Bain, Prof A. 1 September 2000 
			 Picketing, Prof J. 1 September 2000 
			 Stoneman, Prof P. 1 September 2000 
			 Blair, Mr. M. 1 September 2000 
			 Lewis, Mr. A. 1 September 2000 
			 Zellick, Prof G. 1 September 2000 
			 Hewitt, Mrs. S.F. 1 March 2000 
			 Kelly, Ms A.M. 1 March 2000 
			 Smith-Hillman, Mrs. 1 September 2000 
			 Quigley, Ms P. 1 September 2000 
			 Davey, Mr. M. 1 September 2000 
			 Grant-Hutchison, Mr. P. 1 March 2000 
			 Scott, Mr. A. 1 March 2000 
			 Mather, Mr. G. 1 September 2000 
			 Grinyer, Prof P. 1 September 2000 
			 Rubin, Ms J. 15 September 2003 
		
	
	These appointments were made, under the Competition Act 1998, to the Competition Commission Appeal Tribunals, the forerunner of the Competition Appeal Tribunal created by the Enterprise Act 2000. The members were transferred to the new body on 1 April 2003.
	Except as indicated, all appointments to the Competition Commission and the Competition Appeal Tribunal were made by open advertised competition following and, since 1996, in accordance with the guidelines of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Competition Commission/Competition Appeal Tribunal

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the duties and responsibilities of (a) the Competition Commission and (b) the Competition Appeal Tribunal are; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows.
	(a) Competition Commission
	The Competition Commission is responsible for conducting investigations, after referral by the Office of Fair Trading, the Secretary of State or various regulators into markets, mergers licence modifications and other matters involving competition issues under the following legislation:
	Enterprise Act 2002
	Fair Trading Act 1973
	Water Industry Act 1991
	Broadcasting Act 1990
	Telecommunications Act 1984
	Gas Act 1986
	Gas (N. Ireland) Order 1996
	Electricity Act 1989
	Electricity (N. Ireland) Order 1992
	Airports Act 1986
	Airports (N. Ireland) Order 1994
	Railways Act 1993
	Postal Services Act 2000
	Transport Act 2000
	Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
	(b) Competition Appeal Tribunal
	The responsibilities of the CAT are:
	to hear appeals in respect of decisions made under the Competition Act 1998 by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the regulators in the telecommunications, electricity, gas, water, railways and air traffic services sectors;
	to hear actions for damages and other monetary claims under the Competition Act 1998;
	to review decisions made by the Secretary of State, OFT and the Competition Commission in respect of merger and market references or possible reference under the Enterprise Act 2002;
	to hear appeals in respect of decisions made by the Office of Fair Trading under the EC Competition Law (Articles 84 and 85) Enforcement Regulations 2001 (as amended) in respect of air transport services and international maritime tramp vessel services.

Consumer Credit

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if she will take steps to simplify the formula for calculating APRs on credit cards once the industry adopts an honesty box or summary table of its fees and charges on promotional material;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the benefits of reforming APRs on credit cards so that additional charges are not included in the APR formula.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I intend to publish a White Paper in the autumn, which will set out the Government's intentions for the reform of the consumer credit regime.
	This will be followed by a detailed consultation on a unified method for calculating APRs on credit cards and the information that industry will have to include in promotional material and credit agreements.

Consumer Credit

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions her Department has had with the European Union on section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department is working hard in the negotiations, within the European Union, on a revised Consumer Credit Directive to ensure that we maintain the joint and several liability protections that currently govern credit card use in the UK. I am not prepared to see this important and valuable piece of consumer protection removed.

Consumer Credit

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 17 July, Official Report, column 507W, on the Consumer Credit Act, when she expects to publish the results of the consultations.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government will publish a white paper on consumer credit during the autumn. This will include our proposals on the reform of the licensing regime. Shortly after the publication of the white paper we will also publish a summary of the responses to the recent consultation.

Electricity Generation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much electricity in the UK has been generated through (a) coal, (b) gas, (c) nuclear power, (d) renewable and (e) other sources in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: The available data are shown in the following table.
	
		TWh
		
			  Coal Gas Nuclear power Renewable(2) Other sources(3) Total 
		
		
			 1998 123.0 117.8 99.5 9.2 13.2 362.7 
			 1999 106.2 142.9 95.1 10.2 13.8 368.2 
			 2000 120.0 148.1 85.1 10.4 13.6 377.1 
			 2001 131.5 142.0 89.9 10.1 11.3 384.7 
			 2002 124.4 152.1 88.0 11.3 11.2 387.1 
		
	
	(2) Includes electricity generated from biofuels, hydro-natural flow, wind, wave and solar photovoltaics.
	(3) Includes oil, coke oven gas, blast furnace gas, waste products from chemical processes and hydro-pumped storage.

Electricity Generation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much (a) coal and (b) gas has been used for the generation of electricity in the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available; how much of these totals has been imported; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The available information is shown in the following table:
	
		Selected fuels used for electricity generation in the UK
		
			  Coal(million tonnes) Gas TWh Imported coal(4) (million tonnes) 
		
		
			 1998 48.6 267.8 9.7 
			 1999 41.2 315.5 8.1 
			 2000 46.2 324.6 14.1 
			 2001 50.9 309.8 23.2 
			 2002 47.7 326.3 19.4 
		
	
	(4) These figures show the level of coal imports by electricity generators.
	Sources:
	Digest of UK Energy Statistics and major power producers.
	Although the Department collects information on gas supplied to power stations from dedicated pipelines from indigenous production there is no central record for distinguishing how much of the gas that they take from the National Transmission System has been imported as the origin of gas cannot be distinguished once it has entered the NTS.

Export Credit Guarantees Department

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 25 June 2003, Official Report, column 798W, on the Export Credit Guarantees Department, if she will list, for each country, the amounts (a) which relate to military and defence products, contracts or services and (b) which do not.

Mike O'Brien: The amounts are detailed by country and split between defence and non-defence in the table, which has been placed in the Library, by reference to ECGD's exposure as at 30 June 2003. Given the way ECGD's records are held it is not possible to split claims outstanding for recovery in respect of Account 1 (pre-1992 business) between defence and non-defence nor amounts in respect of moratorium interest accrued on claims paid.

Fossil Fuel Reserves

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the remaining reserves of domestic supplies of (a) gas, (b) oil and (c) coal.

Stephen Timms: The Department of Trade and Industry publishes annually estimates of oil and gas reserves on the UK Continental Shelf. The latest estimates are that, as at the end of 2002, remaining proven and probable discovered recoverable reserves amounted to 920 million tonnes of oil and 1,000 billion cubic metres of gas. A further 425 million tonnes of oil and 330 billion cubic metres of gas are classified as possible reserves in discovered fields. There are a further 90 to 490 million tonnes of oil and 70 to 265 billion cubic metres of gas in potential additional reserves in smaller undeveloped fields. Furthermore, it is also estimated that additional reserves of between 270 and 1,770 million tonnes of oil and between 235 and 1,390 billion cubic metres of gas could exist in fields that had not been yet discovered.
	A study carried out by IMC Group Consulting Ltd. for DTI which was published in December 2002 assessed UK coal reserves in the 15 deep mines operating at that time at around 150 million tonnes, with further known mineral potential of around 260 million tonnes, mainly in 7 mine licence areas. The UK opencast reserve is estimated to be around 230 million tonnes.

International Atomic Energy Agency

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals the United Kingdom is putting to the 47th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 15–19 September; how the United Kingdom will be represented at the General Conference; and if she will place in the Library copies of documentation presented to the conference that is relevant to the United Kingdom.

Nigel Griffiths: The UK will, as usual, be represented at the Agency's General Conference by a team of officials from different Government Departments, led by the UK's Governor to the IAEA. Throughout the week the UK will be negotiating and working with other member states on a wide range of issues relevant to the Agency's activities: these include nuclear safety and security, nuclear verification safeguards, promotion of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and technology. Copies of the UK's statement to the Plenary and resolutions which have been agreed at the Conference will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Large Combustion Plants Directive

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the expected impact on the UK coal industry of the Large Combustion Plants Directive.

Stephen Timms: The Government are currently consulting on options before taking the decision on how to implement the Large Combustion Plants Directive for plants first licensed before July 1987. Officials have discussed the potential impact of the alternative implementation routes with representatives of the UK coal industry, who are also expected to respond formally to the consultation paper. Consultation closes on 29 September. The Government will take a decision on the most appropriate implementation approach only after considering all of the responses received by this data.

Mineworkers' Compensation

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on discussions with the surface mineworker claimants solicitors group with regard to the incorporation of surface mineworkers within the framework of the Claims Handling Agreement for respiratory compensation.

Stephen Timms: I met with members of the co-ordinating group of solicitors at the Coal Health Ministerial Monitoring Group on Wednesday 10 September, I agreed to give them access to British Coal's dust record archives to assist them in identifying specific cases. This exercise will help the parties to determine how best to resolve outstanding cases.

National Federation of Retail Newsagents

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask t he Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with the National Federation of Retail Newsagents.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has not had any recent discussions with the National Federation of Retail Newsagents.
	The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is currently reviewing Code of Practice on newspaper distribution. OFT published a statement of provisional recommendations on 12 December 2002, for public consultation. OFT is now analysing the responses to its public consultation and will make its final report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry shortly.

Store Cards

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Office of Fair Trading regarding high rates of interest levied on store cards;
	(2)  what action she is taking to protect consumers from high rates of interest levied on store cards;
	(3)  what action she is taking to ensure that retail customers are aware of the terms and conditions before signing up for a store card.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department has had no specific discussions regarding the interest rates levied on, or the terms and conditions associated with, store cards.
	My hon. Friend is no doubt aware however, that the DTI is reaching the conclusion of its review of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Government proposals in this area will be set out in a White Paper planned for publication in the autumn. This will address issues such as the transparency of credit products including how they are sold to consumers, advertising and the form and content of credit agreements.
	Through discussions and focus groups, we have been particularly careful to involve key stakeholders from consumer groups, business and enforcement agencies at all stages of the review.
	In terms of consumer protection, the objective is to increase transparency and understanding throughout the UK credit market, empowering consumers to make informed financial decisions.
	My hon. Friend may also be aware that the Department of Trade and Industry recently appeared to give evidence at a Treasury Committee inquiry into the transparency of credit charges.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list (a) foreign and (b) UK visits she has made since 1 April; what the cost was to public funds of each trip; who she met; and what gifts were received.

Tessa Jowell: The Government publish the overall costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits overseas by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500 on an annual basis. The list for the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 was published by the Prime Minister on 16 July 2003, Official Report, column 482W. The next list for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 will be published at the end of the financial year.
	In respect of gifts received, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 March, Official Report, column 482W.
	I have taken the following UK trips since 1 April 2003.
	
		£
		
			 Date Destination Event Transport Price 
		
		
			 3 April 2003 Bristol British Empire and Commonwealth Museum and speech at The Building Legible Cities Conference Train 101.4 
			 4 June 2003 Liverpool Liverpool city council for Capital of Culture Train 256 
			 9 June 2003 Aldeburgh Aldeburgh Festival Train 67 
			 24 June 2003 Eastbourne Speech to The Royal College of Physicians Train 51.4 
			 25 June 2003 Newcastle IPPR Seminar Train 238 
			 l July 2003 Birmingham Visit to Lichfield Garrick Train 160

Royal Parks

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much peat the Royal Parks purchased in the last two years; and where it was used;
	(2)  how many animals and birds were culled in the Royal Parks, broken down by (a) species and (b) culling methods used in the most recent year for which figures are available;
	(3)  what (a) pesticides and (b) herbicides the Royal Parks purchased in the last two years, broken down by (i) type and (ii) quantity.

Richard Caborn: Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency and I have asked its Chief Executive, William Weston, to reply.
	Letter from William Weston to Norman Baker, dated 16 September 2003
	I have been asked by the Secretary of State to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about the pesticides we purchase, the number of animals we cull and our use of peat, because these are operational matters which have been delegated to me.
	We do not use peat in our horticultural and grounds maintenance work, but most bedding plants we purchase are supplied to us in peat. We have been looking into alternatives to peat for bedding plants and will be running a trial next year in which all the plants purchased in one park will be grown in an alternative medium. We will assess the result in terms of quality and cost of the plants involved.
	The only cull we carried out last year was the annual deer cull, when 179 deer were shot.
	We do not purchase herbicides or pesticides. The horticultural and grounds maintenance functions in the parks are carried out by contractors. Park managers specify what tasks require doing and how they are to be done. Where pesticides and herbicides are required, park managers approve which ones should be used and the information is not, therefore, held centrally. We could only find out which types have been used by asking contractors to obtain the information from each job order they have had from park managers for the past two years. Even that would say what type had been approved but not what quantities had been used.

Royal Parks Constabulary

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in the implementation of the recommendations of the Speed review of the Royal Parks Police; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: All 23 main recommendations of the Speed inspection of the Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC) have been implemented, apart from those relating to the merger with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).
	Agreement in principle on the merger was reached in July with the MPS and the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) to merge the RPC with the MPS to create a separate Royal Parks Operational Command Unit (OCU) within the MPS.

Royal Parks Constabulary

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many officers were employed in the Royal Parks Constabulary in each of the last five years.

Richard Caborn: The information is as follows.
	
		
			 As at 31 March Officers 
		
		
			 1999 158 
			 2000 154 
			 2001 155 
			 2002 148 
			 2003 146

Royal Parks Constabulary

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the morale of the Royal Parks Constabulary.

Richard Caborn: A change of this magnitude is bound to cause concern among staff. This is an unusual situation and it takes time to find out exactly what is involved and how it can be achieved. During this period there is not much concrete information we can tell staff and I understand how the lack of information can lead to uncertainty which is bound to affect morale. I can only assure RPC officers that Ministers from this Department and the Home Office are working to resolve outstanding issues so that the details can be made available to them and this unfortunate period of uncertainty brought to an end.

Royal Parks Constabulary

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on security of tenure of their homes for Officers of the Royal Parks Constabulary, in the event of a merger with the Metropolitan Police.

Richard Caborn: The Royal Parks will do what it can to ensure that Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC) officers currently living in Royal Parks accommodation will not be disadvantaged by the merger with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

Royal Parks Constabulary

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects the merger of the Metropolitan Police with the Royal Parks Constabulary to take place.

Richard Caborn: The aim is that the Royal Parks Occupational Command Unit should start on 1st April 2004 but this is conditional on resolving funding issues and obtaining the necessary enabling legislation.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bonded Labour

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what further action will be taken at (a) the EU Council of Ministers and (b) G7 meetings to ensure an end to the use of bonded labour in developing countries; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: We are not aware of any specific proposals to discuss this issue in the EU Council of Ministers or in G7 or G8 meetings in the near future.
	The Government are committed to helping to eliminate all abusive labour practices. These include bonded labour, forced labour and child labour. These abusive practices persist where poverty denies people their rights and a decent livelihood. All the programmes of the Department for International Development (DFID) are intended to contribute to improving the livelihoods of poor people and helping them realise their rights. We also support projects targeted at particular abusive practices. Examples have included a programme in India to eliminate child labour, including bonded child labour; collaboration with the Asian Development Bank in Pakistan on rural development strategies that include tackling bonded labour and support for Action Aid's Poverty Reduction Project which has been working with bonded labourers in the Kailali district of Nepal to help them achieve secure livelihoods.
	The United Kingdom has played a leading role in, ensuring that the international framework to promote workers' rights and to tackle abuses of those rights, including bonded labour, is in place, particularly through its work with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the UN specialised agency responsible for labour rights. The UK fully supports the ILO work to help end forced and bonded labour, which we see as both a cause and result of poverty.
	Through DFID's Partnership Framework arrangement with the ILO, the UK provides support for technical assistance designed to eliminate forced labour. DFID is also supporting ILO programmes in West Africa and South East Asia to tackle forced labour and trafficking.
	The Government strongly support the ILO's core labour standards and are actively seeking to raise awareness of voluntary codes of conduct based on these for the working of business in developing countries. In particular we helped to set up and fund the Ethical Trading Initiative, which is an alliance of UK retail companies, non-governmental organisations and trade unions that works to improve labour conditions in the supply chain of its corporate members. The employment standards adopted by ETI members come from the Core Conventions of the ILO. The combined annual turnover of the corporate members amounts to over £100 billion and is expected to rise significantly.
	We are also supporting Anti-Slavery International to raise awareness of the issue and stimulate action by trade unions, business and other civil society organisations and governments.

Caucasus (Oil Pipelines)

Simon Thomas: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will place reports which his Department has (a) carried out and (b) commissioned on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline Project in the Library.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID is currently assessing whether the Environmental and Social Assessement for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline project complies with the policies and procedures of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group. I will place that assessment in the Library in due course.

Developing Countries (Property Ownership)

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the effects on development of the lack of effective systems to establish property ownership in developing countries.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID recognises that secure rights to land and property are fundamental to poor people's ability to act as citizens and pursue their livelihoods within a democratic society and open economy. The absence of systems to establish property ownership holds back development. In many cases it excludes the poor from accessing basic services and participating in formal markets for land and property, limiting social mobility and economic opportunity. The rights of large numbers of people living in informal settlements (which make up between 30–70 per cent. of populations of urban centres in developing countries) and those of rural people dependent on natural resources are frequently not recognised by the authorities. As a result they are vulnerable to eviction and loss of physical and natural assets. Many developing countries are seeking to address these problems by remodelling their systems of land and property administration, but lack the financial resources and technical capacity to do so effectively.

Iraq

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on (a) the humanitarian situation in Iraq and (b) the impact of security on the humanitarian situation.

Hilary Benn: While significant challenges face the reconstruction effort in Iraq, particularly in the electricity, water supply and oil sectors which have suffered from looting, sabotage and the breakdown of obsolete infrastructure, progress has been made in improving humanitarian conditions for most Iraqis. The public distribution system for food is up and running, most hospitals are in operation, medical supplies are coming into the country, children are being vaccinated and most schools were open by June. Continuing security problems are making the work of humanitarian organisations difficult and often dangerous. The Coalition Provisional Authority is making strenuous efforts to put in place an effective new Iraqi police and justice system, at the same time as coalition forces are being strengthened to help maintain law and order.

Iraq

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will publish the plans the Government have to release money for humanitarian needs in Iraq before the donors conference in October.

Hilary Benn: DFID spending commitments for Iraq are published regularly in our weekly "Iraq Updates". We have to date committed £198 million of the £210 million currently available to DFID for the Iraq crisis. Additional commitments may be made from this £210 million between now and the Donors' Conference in Madrid in October. Any further significant allocations for assistance to Iraq will be considered by the Government in view of the needs assessments being undertaken by the World Bank, the IMF and the United Nations, which will be presented to the October Donors' Conference.

Iraq

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what recent discussions the Department has had with non-governmental organisations on their continued presence in Iraq.

Hilary Benn: DFID has regular discussions with NGOs on a range of issues concerning their work in Iraq, including over security and their continued operations in the country. We have told those NGOs whose work we are currently supporting in Iraq that we would be prepared to consider requests for additional financial resources to cover the costs of increased security provisions that they may need to put in place.

CABINET OFFICE

E-Envoy

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office in which month he expects the Annual Report of the e-envoy for 2003 to be published.

Douglas Alexander: We are committed to publishing an Annual Report each year on the UK online strategy. We intend to publish the 2003 report by the end of the year.

TREASURY

Government Contracts

Frank Dobson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice is issued to government departments about placing contracts for goods and services with organisations which have been indicted for fraud or are being investigated for fraud

Paul Boateng: The EC procurement rules allow contracting authorities to exclude firms from a procurement where they have been convicted of a criminal offence, or have committed an act of grave misconduct related to the conduct of their business or profession. This can include cases involving fraud and corruption.

Air Passenger Duty

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the revenue yield from increasing the level of air passenger duty from £5 to £10 on economy flights within the European Economic Area; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Increasing the reduced rate of air passenger duty from £5 to £10 on flights within the European Economic Area would have raised an estimated £595 million in 2002–03 from this category of passenger.

Air Passenger Duty

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the revenue yield from raising the level of air passenger duty for club class and first class flights (a) from £10 to £20 for destinations within the European Economic Area and (b) from £40 to £50 for non-EEA destinations.

John Healey: Increasing the standard rate of air passenger duty (APD) from £10 to £20 on flights within the European Economic Area (EEA) would have raised an estimated £65 million in 2002–03 from this category of passenger. Increasing the standard rate of APD from £40 to £50 on flights outside the EEA would have raised an estimated £135 million in the same financial year from this category of passenger.

Air Passenger Duty

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the relationship between the level of air passenger duty and petrol duty in terms of the environmental objectives of Government taxation policies; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Levels of all taxes, including air passenger duty and petrol duty, are reviewed on a Budget-by-Budget basis, taking account of a range of social, economic and environmental considerations.

Capital Gains Tax

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what his latest estimate is of the revenue cost of the changes to capital gains tax introduced in the March 2000 Budget for each year from 2000–01 to 2005–06; what assessment has been made of the economic benefits of the reform; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his latest estimate is of the cost of changing the capital gains tax business assets taper relief in the November 2001 Pre-Budget Report; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what his estimate is of the revenue yield from abolishing capital gains tax taper relief for each year from 2000–01 to 2005–06; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The estimated yield, on an accrual basis, from abolishing Capital Gains Tax Taper Relief, as currently operating, for 2000–01 and 2001–02 are published in Table A3.1 in the Budget Report 2003. The figures take into account some of the likely effects on yield from changes in taxpayers' behaviour. Figures for later years are not available.
	The estimated cost, on an accrual basis, of changes to the Capital Gains Tax Taper Relief announced in Budget 2000 for each year from 2000–01 to 2002–03 are published in Table A. 13 in the Budget Report 2000.
	The estimated cost, on an accrual basis, of changes to the Capital Gains Tax Taper Relief outlined in Pre-Budget Report 2001 for each year from 2002–03 to 2004–05 are published in Table A.2 in Budget 2002 report.
	The estimates of cost of Budget 2000 and Pre-Budget Report 2001 changes take into account most of the likely effects on yield from changes in taxpayers' behaviour. Figures for later years are not available.
	We intend to evaluate taper relief once the system has had time for its effects to become measurable.

Customs and Excise

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 8 September 2003, Official Report, column 98W, what new technology and extra operational activity at (a) Newhaven, (b) Poole, (c) Isle of Wight, (d) Portsmouth and (e) Southampton, is intended to replace the full-time manning at present; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Technology will improve existing capacity to detect the illicit importation of radiological material into the UK. It will not replace any existing Customs capability. As to Custom's operational activity, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him to his earlier question on 8 September 2003, Official Report, column 99W.

Deprivation

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which electoral wards are among the 10 per cent. most deprived in England and Wales.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	There are 841 wards in England and 865 wards in Wales that are among the 10 per cent. most deprived wards in the two countries. The full list of these most deprived wards is available in the Libraries of the House.
	There are separate deprivation measures for England and Wales and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is only responsible for deprivation-related policy in England. Deprivation policy in Wales is the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly.

Film Industry

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the total annual (a) revenue cost and (b) economic benefit of the film industry tax reliefs introduced in and since the July 1997 Budget for each year from 1997–98 to 2005–06; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Section 48 of the Finance (No.2) Act 1997 introduced a tax relief for expenditure on the production or acquisition of the master version of a British qualifying film with total production expenditure not exceeding £15 million. This relief is estimated to have cost £440 million for the period 1997–98 to 2001–02 and costs for the further years are estimated as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2002–03 300 
			 2003–04 140 
			 2004–05 70 
			 2005–06 50 
		
	
	We are continuing to assess the overall effectiveness of this relief as part of the Budget process.

Film Industry

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the yield to the Exchequer from abolishing the film industry tax reliefs; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: There are three main measures providing enhanced tax relief for expenditure on the production or acquisition of the master version of a film. None of these reliefs has been abolished. However, the relief contained in section 48 of the Finance (No.2) Act 1997 for British qualifying films with total production expenditure not exceeding £15 million applies only to expenditure incurred on or before 2 July 2005. I also refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer which I am today giving to his companion question 130013.

Parliamentary Questions

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many questions directed to him remain unanswered.

John Healey: 2,483 of the 3,341 (74.3 per cent.) written questions tabled to the Treasury Ministers in the present parliamentary session to date received substantive replies on or before the dates on which answers were due. Answers have not yet been given to 147 questions, but in 131 cases the answers are not overdue.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost of restricting income tax relief on pensions to the basic rate of income tax; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The estimated yield from restricting income tax relief on employee and self-employed pension contributions to the basic rate is £1.9 billion in 2002–03. The yield from restricting employer contributions is £2.8 billion, this estimate assumes that the proportion of total employer contributions relating to higher rate taxpayers is that same as that for employees. The estimates take no account of any behavioural effects which are likely to result from such changes.

Stamp Duty

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will publish (a) the results of the consultation on the reform of stamp duty land tax affecting commercial leases and (b) revisions to the Government's proposals.

Dawn Primarolo: We expect to publish shortly.

Stamp Duty

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to align the residential and non-residential property upper thresholds for the zero rate stamp duty band.

Dawn Primarolo: The Chancellor's decision to increase the zero rate stamp duty threshold to £150,000 for non-residential property has been welcomed by business representatives as a boost for small businesses investing in commercial property and will come into effect from 1 December 2003. The level of the thresholds is kept under regular review.
	As part of the Government's plans to regenerate the most deprived parts of the UK, in 1,997 Enterprise Areas the purchase of residential property costing up to £150,000 is already exempt from stamp duty.

Tax

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the impact on the tax yield of increasing the top rate of tax to 50 pence in the pound.

Dawn Primarolo: This estimate can be derived from the Inland Revenue Statistics table T1.6 "Direct effects of illustrative tax change" which is available on the Inland Revenue website. It excludes any behavioural response to the tax change.

Tax

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to change the rules relating to non-domicile status for tax purposes.

Dawn Primarolo: At Budget 2002, the Chancellor announced a review of the residence and domicile rules as they affect the tax liabilities of individuals. That work is continuing. The background paper published on Budget Day 2003 provides a framework for further analysis and discussion.

Tax

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the annual cost for each year from 2002–03 to 2005–06 of the tax changes made in the March 2002 Budget to (a) research and development tax credit for large companies, (b) exemption for gains on large shareholdings, (c) community investment tax credit, (d) Vaccines Tax Credit, (e) tax relief for community amateur sports clubs, (f) beer duty relief for small brewers, (g) expansion of the scope of the lower rate of air passenger duty and (h) reform of the tax relief on intellectual property; what assessments have been made in each case of the economic benefits of the tax changes made; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The available information is shown in Table A1 of the Budget 2002 Financial Statement and Budget Report (pp153–154).

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol Reduction Strategy

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in the publication of the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy; and when he expects the strategy to be published.

Hazel Blears: The Government are on course to meet the target in the NHS Plan to implement the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy by 2004. A large scale consultation has been conducted jointly by the Department of Health and the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. This yielded a large number of responses which have been extremely valuable in informing the development of the strategy. The Strategy Unit is due to publish its interim analysis shortly.
	The Strategy Unit's final report, which will set out the cross-governmental alcohol harm reduction strategy, is due for publication during the autumn. There will then be further Government consultation on the details of implementation and the strategy will be implemented according to timetable by 2004.

Antisocial Behaviour

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to tackle antisocial behaviour associated with drinking alcohol.

Hazel Blears: The Government have already brought forward a range of legislative measures designed to help tackle anti-social behaviour associated with drinking alcohol. The Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000 makes it an offence for any person to sell alcohol to a person aged under 18 on licensed premises, or knowingly to allow another person to do so. It also created the offence of buying, or attempting to buy, alcohol on licensed premises on behalf of a person aged under 18.
	The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 provides the police and local authorities with increased powers to tackle under-age drinking. The Act contains measures to make it easier for local authorities to designate areas where restrictions on anti-social drinking will apply. It also created a positive duty on licensees and their staff not to sell alcohol to persons aged under 18s.
	Section 155 of the Licensing Act 2003, which came into force on 10 September 2003, extends existing police powers relating to the confiscation of alcohol from people who are drinking and causing a nuisance in public places, so as to allow for the confiscation of sealed containers, in addition to opened containers, in defined circumstances.
	In addition, anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) have been used to prohibit individuals from consuming alcohol or being under the influence of alcohol in public. Such orders can also be used to prohibit individuals from entering licensed premises or off-licences and buying alcohol. ASBO prohibitions can cover any geographical area up to and including the whole of England and Wales.
	For the future, the Home Office is working with the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit on their project to develop a national alcohol harm reduction strategy. The project is looking at the wide range of alcohol harms including alcohol-related crime, anti-social behaviour and community safety. A report setting out the cross-governmental alcohol harm reduction strategy for England is due for publication during autumn 2003.

Sexual Offences

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been cautioned for gross indecency in lavatories at Baker Street tube station since 1995.

Hazel Blears: The information on cautions collected centrally in England and Wales does not enable areas below police force level to be identified.

Sexual Offences

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the use of CCTV cameras in public lavatories to combat the problem of sexual activities.

Hazel Blears: No assessment has been made of the use of CCTV cameras in public lavatories to combat the problem of sexual activities.

Accidents (Emergency Service Vehicles)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal accidents involving (i) police, (ii) ambulance, (iii) fire service and (iv) other emergency service vehicles there were in each year since 1993, in each London borough; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The tables attached give the number of accidents in the Metropolitan and City of London police areas involving police vehicles engaged inimmediate/emergency response or pursuit at the time of the accident. The figures are broken down by the severity of injuries sustained by police officers and civilians. Information is not available broken down by London Borough. The Home Office does not collect data on accidents involving ambulance, fire service, or other emergency vehicles.
	The Government welcomes the recognition by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that they must work to reduce the number of collisions involving police vehicles.
	ACPO are working closely with the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) to identify why they occur and how they might be avoided. Useful information can be expected from the increasing use by forces of Automatic Data Recorders (ADR) and Vehicle Accident Data Recorders (VADR). These operate in a similar way to aircraft black boxes, providing data on such issues as speed, gear changes, braking, and the use of blue lights.
	
		Table A: The number of accidents in the Metropolitan (Met) and City of London (CofL) police areas involving police vehicles engaged in immediate/emergency response or pursuit at the time of the accident, broken down by severity of injuries sustained to police officers.
		
			  Fatal Serious Injury Slight Injury 
			 Year Met CofL Met CofL Met CofL 
		
		
			 1993 2 0 51 0 N/a N/a 
			 1994–95 2 0 22 0 421 2 
			 1995–96 0 0 23 0 297 4 
			 1996–97 0 0 43 1 352 7 
			 1997–98 0 0 47 3 419 0 
			 1998–99 0 0 45 0 280 6 
			 1999–2000 0 0 11 0 235 0 
			 2000–01 0 0 11 0 235 0 
			 2001–02 0 0 15 0 218 5 
		
	
	
		Table B: The number of accidents in the Metropolitan (Met) and City of London (CofL) police areas involving police vehicles engaged in immediate/emergency response or pursuit at the time of the accident, broken down by severity of injuries sustained to civilians.
		
			  Fatal Serious Injury Slight Injury 
			 Year Met CofL Met CofL Met CofL 
		
		
			 1993 10 0 45 1 N/a N/a 
			 1994–95 11 0 22 1 353 6 
			 1995–96 4 0 25 0 335 2 
			 1996–97 1 0 27 0 189 4 
			 1997–98 1 0 28 0 246 3 
			 1998–99 1 0 25 1 310 3 
			 1999–2000 1 0 24 0 220 0 
			 2000–01 6 0 29 0 393 2 
			 2001–02 2 0 36 1 389 1 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The information is provided by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, to which forces submit statistical returns
	2. All figures are for financial years, except for 1993 (calendar year)
	3. Figures for 2002–03 are not yet available
	4. Information on fatalities and injuries is only available for accidents involving police vehicles which were engaged in immediate/emergency response or pursuit at the time of the accident.

Airwave Radio

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Home Office expects the airwave radio to be in service in the Thames Valley police area; what the original estimate was for when airwave radios would be introduced into the Thames Valley police area; what changes have been made in the payment of government grant in respect of the airwave radio system in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Airwave network became available for operational use in the Thames Valley police area on 23 July 2003.The force is expected to be fully operational on the Airwave service by August 2004. The original estimate for the introduction of the Airwave service in Thames Valley was 24 June 2002.
	The payment of government grant in respect of Airwave is adjusted in each police force depending on progress of the rollout. In the case of Thames Valley, the force received payment in 2002–03 to assist with setting-up costs, but no payment was made for the service itself. Payment in 2003–04 will cover the core Airwave service and part of the extra features required by the Thames Valley Police Constabulary to ensure its specific operational needs are met.

Alcohol Restricted Zones

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what Act of Parliament anti-social drinking orders are made; and how such orders will be enforced.

Hazel Blears: I believe my hon. Friend is interested in alcohol restricted zones.
	Section 13 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 allows local authorities to introduce designation orders to restrict anti-social public drinking in areas that have experienced alcohol-related disorder or nuisance. The arrangements introduced by the Act replaced a previous Home Office public drinking bylaw.
	The police have responsibility for enforcing such designation orders through their discretionary powers to confiscate alcohol if they reasonably believe that a person is, or has been, consuming alcohol in a designated public place. The discretionary powers are set out in section 12 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.

Anti-terrorism Legislation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the use of anti-terrorism legislation against the protesters at the Excel Exhibition Centre in East London on 9 September.

David Blunkett: I have called for an immediate report, to be with me by 18 September, into the use of Section 44 stop and search powers during the policing of the DSEi exhibition at the Excel Exhibition Centre in London.
	It would be inappropriate to comment further until I have had an opportunity to consider the report.

Child Abuse

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many England and Wales police forces have been involved in investigations into allegations of child abuse in children's homes and other institutions in the past five years; and how many of these allegations relate to historical abuse.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available centrally. The Home Office does not collect information on police investigations into allegations of child abuse in children's homes or similar institutions.
	In its report on "The Conduct of Investigations Into Past Cases of Abuse in Children's Homes" in October 2002, the Home Affairs Committee noted that 34 police forces had conducted investigations, and that there had been a total of 226 charges relating to historical abuse. It did not record the number of allegations made.

Child Abuse

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken to revise the internal police handbook for senior investigating officers to set out the terms of an initial approach to potential witnesses in a child abuse case.

Hazel Blears: I understand from the Association of Chief Police Officers that the team responsible for writing this handbook has been considering the recommendations of the Home Affairs Committee in its report on "The Conduct of Investigations into Past Cases of Abuse in Children's Homes", and the Government's response, and is expected to reach its conclusions before the end of the year.

Child Abuse

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will issue a code of practice for the audio and visual recording of police interviews with complainants and other significant witnesses in cases of historical child abuse;
	(2)  if the Government will issue guidelines to enforce recording of police interviews of complainant and other significant witnesses in home care abuse cases.

Hazel Blears: There is no current code of practice which directs the police to record (either by audio or video) interviews with complainants or other significant witnesses, and we do not propose to introduce one.
	Guidance entitled 'Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings' was issued to the police and other agencies involved in criminal proceedings in 2002, superseding the 'Memorandum of Good Practice on Video Recorded Interviews with Child Witnesses for Criminal Proceedings (1992)'. The guidance describes best practice procedures when interviewing vulnerable or intimidated witnesses, whether adults or children, to ensure that they are able to give their best evidence.
	There may be clear advantages to both complainant and defendant if greater transparency were built into the process of obtaining evidence in historical abuse cases, and the Government will consider with the Association of Chief Police Officers how to take this forward.
	Copies of 'Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings' have been placed in the Library.

Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what improvements to child protection measures have been instituted by police forces since the publication of the Laming Report.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 11 September 2003
	The Government response to the Victoria Climbié Inquiry Report was published on 8 September as an annex to the Green Paper, "Every Child Matters". The response directly addresses the recommendations made by Lord Laming to the police and the Home Office.
	One key improvement we have made is to issue revised guidance to the police on the appropriate use of police protection powers. The Home Office Circular for this purpose was published on 8 September and has been issued to all Chief Constables.
	In the National Policing Plan 2003–06, we asked all police forces to address their child protection service as part of local policing plan priorities, and this was reflected in all plans received by the Home Office in March 2003.
	In addition, we understand that the Association of Chief Police Officers has prepared draft standards for child protection policing. These will be produced by the National Centre of Policing Excellence by the end of 2003 as part of a manual of guidance.

Child Rescue Alert

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the findings of the pilot scheme into Child Rescue Alert carried out by Sussex Police.

Hazel Blears: The findings of the pilot will not be published. However, they have informed the setting up of a national text messaging service by Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), which can be used to quickly alert the public in the event of child abductions.

Child Rescue Alert

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on individual police forces entering into commercial contracts with private companies providing text messaging services for child abduction warning schemes as envisaged in the Child Rescue Alert Scheme in Sussex.

Hazel Blears: The Vice Chair of the Information Management Communications Group of the Association of Chief Police Officers has written to all Chief Constables and Commissioners of Police advising them to first discuss any intention to enter into such commercial contracts with the E-policing Management Group and Police Information Technology Organisation.
	I support the advice given in that letter.

Crime (Merseyside)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the level of recorded crime in Crosby in the last 12 months.

Hazel Blears: Six categories of recorded crime at Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) and police Basic Command Unit (BCU) level have been collected and published for the period from 1 April 1999. These categories are listed in the table, with the number of crimes for the latest available year in the Sefton CDRP and BCU within which Crosby falls. This data has been published on the Home Office Website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb703sup1.xls.
	Recorded Crimes in Sefton CDRP/BCU area in year ending March 2003.
	
		
			 Offence category Number of recorded crimes 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 3,016 
			 Sexual Offences 185 
			 Robbery 334 
			 Burglary in a dwelling 2,533 
			 Theft of vehicle 1,542 
			 Theft from vehicle 1,629 
		
	
	Merseyside adopted the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002, and so this will have affected the 2002/03 figures given above.

Police (Havering)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent measures have been taken to cut crime rates in Romford by the Metropolitan police.

Hazel Blears: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that the Borough Commander for Havering and his senior management team continue to police Havering borough using intelligence-led policing, focusing on crime hot spots within the borough. An example of one of these initiatives, which began on 5 September 2003, is an operation which targets street robbery, disorder and assault and involves the co-operation of Havering borough council and the British Transport Police. A further initiative has been introduced whereby one sergeant and seven constables patrol outside nightclubs in Romford on both Friday and Saturday nights to reduce disorder. The Metropolitan police believe that this has helped to reduce disorder and provide reassurance in the town centre.
	Since 1 April this year, figures provided by the Metropolitan police indicate that total notifiable offences in Havering borough have been reduced by 4.3 per cent. and burglary has been reduced by 25.4 per cent.

Police (Havering)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he had with the Metropolitan police in the London borough of Havering in July.

Hazel Blears: While I had no discussions with the Metropolitan police of the London borough of Havering in July, I did meet the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service on 16 July. This meeting was one of a series held throughout the year which focus on the whole of the Metropolitan police area.

Police (Havering)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Metropolitan Police in the London Borough of Havering during the past 12 months.

Hazel Blears: I have had no meetings with the Metropolitan Police in the London Borough of Havering during the past 12 months. I have regular bilateral meetings with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Criminal Trials

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid to witnesses in criminal proceedings in each of the last 10 years.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table shows the amounts paid to prosecution witnesses in each of the last six years. It is not possible to provide figures for the last 10 years as records have only been kept consistently since 1996 following the introduction of a new accounting system. The figures are broken down between expert witness fees, foreign witness expenses and ordinary and professional witness allowances.
	Allowances paid to expert witnesses are discretionary. Guidance is provided to staff when paying expert witness fees. Rates of payment for ordinary witness allowances which include loss of earnings, travel and subsistence and, where appropriate, overnight, overnight allowances, are prescribed by the Crown Prosecution Service (Witnesses' allowances) Regulations 1988 which set out maximum rates payable.
	All rates are reviewed annually and any increases in the rates set out in the Regulation are approved by HM Treasury.
	
		£
		
			  Expert witness fees Foreign witness expenses Ordinary/professional witness allowances Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 3,482,667 463,670 7,124,681 11,071,018 
			 1998–99 3,790,877 458,976 6,744,345 10,994,198 
			 1999–2000 4,039,521 479,969 6,306,982 10,826,472 
			 2000–01 4,331,570 449,355 6,491,143 11,272,068 
			 2001–02 4,664,002 375,687 6,573,290 11,612,979 
			 2002–03 5,067,840 436,840 6,644,757 12,149,437

Disruptive Youngsters

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to ensure that children under 16 are not on the streets very late at night; and what measures are in place to allow the police to remove disruptive young children from the streets at night.

Hazel Blears: The Anti-social Behaviour Bill currently before Parliament gives the police a power to return young people under 16 who are unsupervised in public places after 9pm to their homes. The power will only be available in areas designated in advance by a senior officer as an area where anti-social behaviour is a significant and persistent problem and where members of the public have been intimidated, harassed, alarmed or distressed by groups.
	The local child curfew scheme introduced in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 allows a local authority or police force (after confirmation by the Secretary of State) to set up a scheme banning children and young people under 16 from being in a public place during specified hours. The police have a power to take home a child found in contravention of a curfew under this scheme.

DNA Profiles

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK citizens have their DNA profiles stored in his Department's database; and what the number of additions was in each of the last four months for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: There were 2,052,018 DNA records relating to individuals at 31 August 2003. Information is not available about the nationality of individuals whose profiles are held.
	The number of profiles added each month for the last four months has been as follows: May 36,839; June 34,503; July 42,138; August 35,459.

Domestic Violence

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to monitor the performance of police forces in giving support to victims of domestic violence.

Hazel Blears: The Government are determined that effective action should be taken to deal with domestic violence.
	Police performance is currently monitored via the collection of data relating to the percentage of arrests made where an arrestable offence has been committed. For the future, police performance on domestic violence will be monitored through the inclusion of domestic violence as an indicator within the Police Performance Assessment Framework.
	In addition HMIC/CPSi are currently undertaking a thematic review of domestic violence which will provide a detailed insight into current police performance on domestic violence. We will consider the recommendations of that review very carefully.

Ellie Baker

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the progress of the investigation into Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker since 15 July;
	(2)  how many complaints were made against Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker by other police officers prior to 1 October 2002;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on the support services available to Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker since the commencement of investigations into allegations against her;
	(4)  if he will list the allegations made against Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 15 September 2003
	My officials have requested this information from the West Midlands Police. Once it has been received I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Extradition Treaties

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) membership of the International Court of Justice and (b) compliance with the Human Rights Act are criteria applied in determining with which countries the UK agrees extradition treaties are based; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Membership of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is not, in itself, a factor that determines if the UK can agree an extradition treaty with another state. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was incorporated into the Human Rights Act 1998 and underpins all UK extradition legislation.
	Any decision to order a fugitive's surrender is taken with full regard to the UK's international obligations.

Forensic Science Laboratory

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces in England and Wales contract work to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Chepstow; how many staff are employed at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Chepstow; and what representations he has received in response to his statement of 17 July regarding the future of the Forensic Science Service from (a) trade unions, (b) police forces and (c) other bodies.

Hazel Blears: Chepstow Forensic Science Laboratory provides services to the police forces in its region, which are Avon and Somerset; Devon and Cornwall; Dorset; Dyfed Powys; Gloucestershire; Gwent; Hampshire; South Wales; Thames Valley and Wiltshire.
	These services are based on Service Level Agreements and not legally binding contracts. Some forces in the area (Dorset for example) use services supplied by other forensic providers; these may be managed through legally binding contracts.
	There are currently 226 individuals employed at Chepstow Forensic Science Laboratory.
	Representations in response to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's statement of 17 July about the future of the Forensic Science Service have been received from two trade unions Prospect and PCS, and from Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC.

Illegal Camping

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made in controlling illegal camping.

Hazel Blears: The Anti-Social Behaviour Bill currently before Parliament includes a new eviction power to deal with unauthorised encampments. This new power will allow the police to take firm action against unauthorised encampments, without having to satisfy the pre-conditions found in the current legislation, where there are places available on local authority sites.

Immigration Control

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost is to his Department per person per day of detaining a person subject to immigration control in (a) a prison and (b) a removal centre.

Beverley Hughes: The Prison Service categorises establishments by their main role only and it is not possible to say what the cost is of detaining a person subject to mmigration control in a prison.
	The average cost per place per day of detention in removal centres contracted out to the private sector is £97. The average cost of detention in Dover and Haslar, the two establishments operated by the Prison Service wholly as removal centres is £66.56.

Intelligent Pedestrian Pilot

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Minister of State's letter (ref M 3759/3) of 20 August, when he expects to receive the outcome of Intelligent Pedestrian Surveillance Pilot schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Intelligent Pedestrian Surveillance pilot is a collaboration between Kingston University, University College London, London Underground and Sollatek. It is not sponsored by the Home Office. However, I await the outcome of the pilot with interest.

Mobile Phones

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crime numbers were issued by the police for (a) lost and (b) stolen mobile phones in the last 24 months for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: The Home Office collects statistics on the basis of recorded crime figures, not crime numbers issued by the police.
	The Home Office does not centrally collect or collate national statistics on the numbers of mobile phone thefts as mobile phone theft is not a separate crime category. Mobile phone theft crime figures are included within the crime categories of robbery, snatch theft and theft from person.
	The Home Office collects four-weekly figures from the 10 street crime police force areas on the numbers of robberies, snatch thefts and thefts from person involving a mobile phone and for nine of the 10 areas these are broken down into those involving a mobile phone only. The data are for internal management and monitoring purposes and are unpublished.
	Home Office Research (Mobile Phone Theft, HORS 235) published in January 2002 looked at the scale of the mobile phone theft problem. Its best estimate of the number of mobile phones stolen in the UK in 2000–01, including unreported offences, was 710,000. This estimate was based on findings from police recording, British Crime Survey, MORI schools survey and the On Track schools survey.

Police Complaints Authority

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints under investigation by the Police Complaints Authority are (a) less than one year old, (b) one to three years old, (c) three to five years old and (d) over five years old; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Information is not available in the form requested. The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) has provided the following table in response.
	
		Total outstanding cases for the PCA at 8 September 2003
		
			 Yearreceived(5) Misconduct Cases only(6) Misconduct cases that were supervised(7) Supervised investigations(8) Total 
		
		
			 1999 1 4 2 7 
			 2000 1 11 5 17 
			 2001 4 19 32 55 
			 2002 30 41 97 168 
			 2003 727 5 225 957 
			 Total 763 80 361 1,204 
		
	
	Note:
	It is important to note the following:
	The PCA does not "investigate" any cases itself; the police forces undertake all investigations;
	Of the above cases, the PCA undertakes a supervisory role for the second and third columns of the table only;
	There are some cases that have been supervised and where the Section 75 is to be issued that are not included in these figures.
	(5) Year received for the column "Misconduct Cases Only" relates to the year the case arrived at the PCA after the investigation had been completed by a police force. The PCA has no control over the time a complaint was made (though legislation dictates it should be within 12 months of the date of incident) or the length of the police investigation.
	(6) These are cases received by the PCA after the investigation has been completed by a police force where a review of the file is required. This includes "Dispensation" cases (those where the complaint is not followed through for any reason).
	(7) These are cases where the PCA has previously supervised an investigation and where a review of the file is now taking place.
	(8) These are cases where the PCA is supervising the investigation.

Police Conduct

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what steps he takes to assess whether appropriate disciplinary action is taken against police officers whose conduct while not on duty is found to be improper;
	(2)  what action he is taking to ensure that complaints by the public relating to a police officer's conduct while not on duty are investigated;
	(3)  what action he is taking to ensure that the Police Complaints Authority has access to all necessary evidence while conducting investigations into improper conduct by police officers when not on duty;
	(4)  what steps he takes to assess the extent to which police forces release information regarding the outcome of a complaint to those that make the complaint, when release of such information is not prohibited by data protection legislation.

Hazel Blears: The Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999 set out at Schedule 1 a Code of Conduct, the principles of which guide police officers' behaviour. The Code applies to the conduct of police officers in all ranks while on duty, or while off duty, if the conduct is serious enough to indicate that an officer is not fit to be a police officer.
	Any breach of the principles in the Code may result in an officer facing misconduct proceedings under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999. Chief officers are responsible for applying the Regulations to their own forces.
	The investigation of complaints by the public relating to the conduct of a police officer falls under Chapter I, Part IV, of the Police Act 1996 (the Act). Under those provisions the police authority is the appropriate authority for handling complaints against senior officers (those above the rank of chief superintendent) and the chief officer of the force is the appropriate authority for recording and investigating complaints in respect of all other ranks.
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department does not have the power to intervene in either the recording or investigation of individual complaints, whether they concern on or off duty conduct, or in any disciplinary proceedings.
	Under Section 72 of the Act, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) will supervise the investigation of certain types of complaints and it is within that process of supervision that it will have access to all the necessary evidence, primarily by way of the Investigating Officer's report. In such cases, the PCA may also impose such additional reasonable requirements as to the conduct of the investigation as appear to them necessary.
	There is currently no statutory requirement for a force to disclose information to a complainant. The Secretary of State for the Home Department does not assess the extent to which police forces release information to a complainant regarding the outcome of a complaint.
	A new police complaints system will be introduced from April 2004 under provisions in the Police Reform Act 2002. This new system will operate under the guardianship of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
	The new system will not change the Secretary of State for the Home Department's role in regard to the handling of complaints or disciplinary proceedings taken against police officers. Similarly, although it does not change the handling with regard to supervised complaints, it does provide for a managed investigation by the IPCC and for an independent investigation by the IPCC. As these two new types of investigation will put the IPCC in full control of the investigation, they will have unrestricted access to all the necessary evidence. Finally, with regards to the disclosure of information, the new complaints system places a clear duty on the police to keep the complainant properly informed during, and at the end of, an investigation, subject to a sensitivity test.

Police Notebooks

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Metropolitan police officers have been subject to an internal disciplinary process for tearing a page or pages from their police notebook in the last five years; and if he will list the sanctions imposed.

Hazel Blears: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that in the last five years one officer has been subject to disciplinary proceedings for removing a page from a pocket book. The officer received a caution.

Police Procedures

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps the Government has taken to (a) simplify police procedures, (b) reduce procedural and administrative burdens on the police, (c) save police resources and (d) speed up the process of justice.

Hazel Blears: The report of the Joint Home Office/ Cabinet Office Review of the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act 1984 set the above criteria as the basis for identifying potential changes to PACE.
	The Government's current legislative programme takes forward the findings of the review in areas such as provision for extending the powers of stop and search; the execution of warrants; street bail; review of police detention; limits on periods of detention without charge; property of detained persons; taking fingerprints before charge; and the process of revising or introducing PACE Codes of Practice. The remaining findings are being taken forward administratively or through future legislative opportunities.

Public Sector Employees

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what protection is afforded to public sector employees from violence in the workplace; and what plans he has to introduce a specific offence for assaulting public sector workers.

Hazel Blears: The Government take a very serious view of violence in the workplace and are pursuing a range of action to combat it.
	In March 2000 the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) embarked on a three-year programme to help employers, including those in the public sector, to tackle assaults on staff, with the aim of reducing the number of incidents of violence at work. So far the programme has resulted in the publication of new guidance specifically aimed at small businesses, the development of new National Occupational Standards on work-related violence, a programme of inspections in the health care sector, and new research to establish good practice for lone workers, including those in the public sector.
	Health and Safety Executive officials are now evaluating this programme and will be submitting written proposals to the HSC on the next stage (2003– 06) later this year.
	Assaulting a public sector worker in the course of his or her duty is an extremely serious matter, as reflected in guidelines issued by the Magistrates' Association in September 2000 (and amended in July 2001). The guidelines already make it clear that, if the assault is against an individual serving the public, this should be considered as an aggravating factor.
	We have no current plans to introduce a specific offence of assaulting a public sector worker.

Secondments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK police officers are seconded to police (a) forces and (b) agencies overseas; which countries are involved; from which forces the officers have been seconded; and what plans there are to send further offices to overseas countries in addition to Iraq.

Hazel Blears: Each police force keeps its own records on overseas secondments and comprehensive figures are not held centrally. Figures are available on the number of United Kingdom police officers participating in international peacekeeping and crisis management operations overseas. Contributions to peacekeeping missions and crisis management operations account for the overwhelming majority of police officers seconded from English and Welsh forces to police forces and agencies overseas. On 5 September 2003, the United Kingdom had 195 serving police officers working in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone, Serbia and Montenegro and Iraq.
	Of these 195 police officers, 92 are from English and Welsh police forces and the National Criminal Intelligence Service. All English and Welsh police forces currently have at least one police officer on secondment to overseas peacekeeping missions with the exception of the City of London Police, Cumbria Constabulary, Gwent Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Leicestershire Constabulary, Norfolk Constabulary, Nottinghamshire Police, Staffordshire Police, Thames Valley Police and West Mercia Constabulary. The largest number of secondees from any one force in England and Wales is seven.
	Contributions from the Ministry of Defence Police, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Scottish police forces make up the remaining numbers of UK police officers serving on international peacekeeping missions.
	Any plans to send police officers from English and Welsh forces to new peacekeeping missions in addition to Iraq will be initiated through a formal request to the Home Office from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I have received no such requests.

Stolen Art

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to provide a national database of stolen art and artefacts; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Home Office continues to work closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the issue of developing a national cultural property database. We are currently in the process of re-assessing various options available to us.

Street Crime

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change there has been in the level of street crime in each of the 10 hot spot areas during the year 2002–03

Hazel Blears: The table compares recorded robbery in 2002–03 with 2001–02 in the 10 police force areas involved in the Street Grime Initiative (SCI). The figures are not adjusted for National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS). The NCRS effect in 2002–03 on recorded robbery figures in England and Wales was to inflate those by three per cent.
	
		
			 Force 2001–02 2002–03 Percentage change 
		
		
			 Metropolitan Police 53,547 42,496 -21 
			 West Midlands 13,322 10,249 -23 
			 Greater Manchester 11,027 10,745 -3 
			 West Yorkshire 5,674 4,947 -13 
			 Avon & Somerset 4,889 3,504 -28 
			 Merseyside 3,155 2,994 -5 
			 Thames Valley 2,894 2,406 -17 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,726 2,799 3 
			 South Yorkshire 1,952 2,112 8 
			 Lancashire 1,608 1,409 -12 
			 Total for 10 SCI forces 100,794 83,661 -17

Underage Drinkers

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact on effective policing of the removal of the power to confiscate sealed containers of alcohol from underage drinkers in public places;
	(2)  in what plans he has to extend the power to confiscate alcohol from young people drinking in public places to sealed containers.

Hazel Blears: Police powers to confiscate alcohol and alcohol containers from under-age drinkers are provided by the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997. That Act was amended by section 29 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 with the effect that the police were able to confiscate alcohol in opened containers from young people in public places, but not alcohol in sealed containers.
	Following representations from the police and others to strengthen these powers to include sealed containers, we brought section 155 of the Licensing Act 2003 into force on 10 September 2003. This extends police confiscation powers in respect of under-age drinkers in public places to include alcohol in sealed containers where the officer believes that the young person is, has been or intends to drink the alcohol in any public place.

Video Surveillance

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the use of video surveillance in public areas; what effect this has had on crime in those areas; and what plans there are to expand video surveillance.

Hazel Blears: Under the Crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative, around £170 million has been spent on 684 CCTV schemes across England and Wales, covering town centres, car parks, residential and rural areas. Of these schemes, 675 are already operational with the remaining schemes due to go live later this year. The Initiative is now closed and there are no plans for a new CCTV-specific funding round in the near future.
	Police operational experience and various other research studies show that CCTV has considerable crime reduction and detection potential, particularly when used as part of a wider strategy.
	To help ensure maximum impact and sustainability of CCTV, a 1.5 million Home Office funded national evaluation programme is being carried out by the Scarman Centre, University of Leicester, on 15 approved CCTV Initiative schemes.
	The final evaluation report will not be published until 2004, but interim reports will be available before then. The first—providing guidance for practitioners on implementation of CCTV schemes—is available on the crime reduction website (www.crimereduction.gov.uk).
	Opportunities for funding of further CCTV schemes in England and Wales currently exist through the Building Safer Communities Fund. Under this fund, £72.3 million has been made available to Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in 2003–04 for tackling local problems of crime and disorder. In addition, a special £50 million Basic Command Unit (BCU) fund has been distributed to local police commanders to help tackle the problems that matter most in their communities. Police will be able to target the extra resources at local level problems, like anti-social behaviour and drugs, deploying CCTV where appropriate.
	The Scottish Parliament has responsibility for CCTV funding in Scotland.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

International Student Visas

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long it takes for an international student visa to be issued.

Chris Mullin: Visa sections at our overseas posts aim to resolve student applications for entry clearance within 24 hours,
	However, if the applicant requires an interview, this can delay the resolution of the application. We normally aim to offer an interview within 10 days. However, applicants may face longer queues in some individual posts where security or other factors mean that we are unable to offer the level of service that we would like.

Afghanistan

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the changes in quantities of opium produced in Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban.

Bill Rammell: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducts an annual survey into the level of opium poppy cultivation and production in Afghanistan. These two sets of figures need to be read together to provide full information about trends in poppy production. It has reported levels of cultivation and production over the past 5 years as follows:
	
		
			 Year Hectares Tonnes 
		
		
			 1998 64,000 2,700 
			 1999 91,000 4,600 
			 2000 82,000 3,300 
			 2001 8,000 185 
			 2002 74,000 3,400 
		
	
	The UNODC figures for 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 were all recorded under the Taliban regime. The figures in 1999 are the highest UNODC have recorded in Afghanistan. The low level of cultivation and low production figure in 2001 reflect the Taliban ban on opium cultivation; the ban did not however address the underlying causes of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and was enforced with mix of threat and bribery.
	The UNODC is in the process of preparing the report of the 2003 survey on behalf of the Afghan government. It will be published in the autumn.

Chemical Weapons

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place with NATO members in the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society regarding the monitoring of chemical leaks from chemical weapons stocks dumped in the Baltic after the second world war.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	Following a Norwegian-led NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) Pilot Study on Cross Border Environmental Problems Emanating from Defence Related Installations and Activities, the Russian Government approached NATO in 1997 regarding possible cooperation in the monitoring and prevention of leakage of chemicals from German chemical weapons stocks sunk in the Baltic and Skagerrak after World War Two. A CCMS expert meeting on chemical weapons dumped in the Baltic Sea and Skagerrak took place in Oslo in 1997. A member of the British embassy in Oslo attended the meeting.
	At that meeting, the Russian delegation gave preliminary information on recent environmental expeditions to the Baltic and Skagerrak. The Russian delegation proposed that a further CCMS expert meeting should be held before the end of 1997 to consider the full findings from the expeditions; and that a joint NATO- Russia expedition should be organised for 1998.
	It was the Ministry of Defence's understanding that CCMS was continuing to lead on this issue. However, we have now been advised that the Russian proposals were forwarded to the NATO Political Committee in 1997. That Committee rejected the proposals, stating that the results of the Russian expeditions and any plans for future expeditions should be conducted through, or as part of, the Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea.

Cyprus

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to reduce the barriers to obtaining a visa to visit the UK for residents of the occupied part of Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The visa regime on the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC") stems from the fact that the United Kingdom requires holders of non-national travel documents to obtain visas to enter the UK. The "TRNC" travel document is considered to be a non-national travel document as it is issued by an authority which is not recognised by HMG. This will remain the case after the entry of the Republic of Cyprus into the EU in May 2004, unless a comprehensive political settlement is achieved first.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Doug Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Chris Mullin: The transitional process in Kinshasa is now making encouraging progress. The new Transitional National Government (TNG) should provide a real opportunity for the Democratic Republic of the Congo to put an end to the cycle of conflict and human rights abuses and start on the path to democracy and development. We are looking actively at ways in which we can provide support—bilaterally, with EU and other partners, and through the UN.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo regarding human rights abuses in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: Before the Transitional National Government (TNG) was installed in Kinshasa at the end of July our ambassador made regular representations to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo about human rights abuses in the territory they then controlled. During the same period the Government supported international efforts to raise human rights awareness in rebel-held areas and, with the EU, condemned abuses in those territories.
	Since installation of the TNG, we have continued to make our views known, both bilaterally and with our international partners. We will support the work of relevant institutions such as the National Human Rights Observatoire.

Iraq

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials the Coalition Provisional Administration has in the British-controlled sector of Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The number of Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) officials in the British-controlled sector is approximately 90. These officials are of various nationalities, and include military and civilians (who might be government secondees, consultants, or contractors). This excludes (a) people and organisations that support CPA with services e.g. security, (b) contractors who are implementing projects but not in any strict sense involved in administration and (c) military who are doing related jobs and are part of the coalition forces but not of CPA.
	The 90 currently includes 27 British civilian staff members with the Coalition Provisional Authority South in the British-controlled sector of Iraq. These include three police and 14 from the Department for International Development. In addition, there are 39 uniformed personnel. It is expected that at least 34 more additional posts will be filled in the near future.

Iraq

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which dates the UNSCOM inspectors visited presidential sites in Iraq before 1999; and what facilities were inspected on each date.

Denis MacShane: holding answer 15 September 2003
	A special team of inspectors, with 20 senior diplomats acting as observers, was established in March 1998 to carry out inspections at eight presidential sites. The inspection mission, UNSCOM 243, visited the sites on the following dates: Radwaniya on 26 and 27 March; Tikrit on 28 March; Mosul and Jabal Makhul on 29 March; Tharthar and Basrah on 30 March; and the Republican Palace and Sijood sites in Baghdad on 1 and 2 April. The inspectors' report was subsequently published as a United Nations document (S/l 998/326), which can be found on the UN internet website at www.un.org/Depts/unscom/s98–326.htm.
	There were no further visits to any of these sites.

Liberia

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Liberia.

Chris Mullin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) on 8 September 2003, Official Report, column 63W.

Liberia

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the members of ECOWAS about (a) UK, (b) EU and (c) UN assistance in Liberia; when these discussions took place; what the outcome of these discussions has been; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The UK is committed to working closely with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure that the present Multi-National Force, and the UN Mission planned for Liberia, are successful in restoring peace and security to Liberia. We have been in close and regular contact with members of ECOWAS, especially Nigeria, over assistance in Liberia.
	We have had discussions within the European Union to ensure adequate funding for Liberia. We have also had discussions within the UN to ensure that the UN Mission is fully equipped to do its job. We have committed £1 million to the ECOWAS Multi-National Force, and have seconded a military adviser to the ECOWAS Secretariat. We have also offered military advisers to the UN planning mission and head quarters.

Moldova

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to assist with the control of proliferation of (a) weapons and (b) nuclear materials in Transnistria in Moldova.

Denis MacShane: We are not aware of any dangerous nuclear materials in the breakaway region of Transnistria. Along with EU partners and allies, we are assisting Russia with the destruction/removal of arms from Transnistria. We are also focusing closely on the political settlement negotiations between Moldova and Transnistria. Resolution of this "frozen conflict" is essential for extending the rule of law throughout the entire territory, an element of which is improved control of arms proliferation. The UK joined with EU partners in imposing targeted sanctions on the Transnistrian leadership in February this year to put pressure on them to negotiate with the Moldovan authorities. I urged the Ukrainian government to take action with the Moldovan authorities to deal with the Transnistria problem in talks in Kiev on 15 September.

Nepal

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what instructions have been issued to officials at the High Commission in Kathmandu regarding applications from the wives of Gurkhas, serving in this country, for visitor visas in cases where the soldiers have six months or less to serve.

Chris Mullin: No specific instructions are issued to the British Embassy in Kathmandu in respect of visit visa applications from the dependants of Gurkha soldiers. Applications for all visitor visas are considered on their own merits in accordance with the United Kingdom Immigration Rules, and no special arrangements are in place for the dependants of Gurkha soldiers.
	However, entry clearance staff in Kathmandu are aware that any Gurkha whose family wish to visit him in the United Kingdom has to follow British Army standing regulations.
	A Gurkha soldier is required to submit to his Commanding Officer a request for members of his family to visit him in the United Kingdom. If the visit is agreed the Army issues a "certificate—Visit by Gurkha Family to Husband's/Father's duty station in the UK"
	An entry clearance application is then made in the normal way. Entry clearance staff in Kathmandu would expect the above-mentioned certificate to be included with other supporting documentation.

Overseas Students

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the level of charges for visas and leave to remain for overseas students; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: I have received few representations regarding the level of visa fees for students. Visa fees are set at a level to ensure that the full cost of providing the entry clearance service worldwide is met from fee income and that the UK taxpayer does not have to meet any of the costs. From 1 July 2002, the visa fee for students has been set at £36. Student visas are issued for the duration of their course regardless of its length. Charges for leave to remain are administered by the Home Office and I have therefore not received representations on this matter.

Uganda

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement concerning the human rights situation in Northern Uganda.

Chris Mullin: We deplore the actions of the rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army, in northern Uganda. In their 17 year war against the Government of Uganda they have been responsible for the abduction of over 20,000 children, many of whom become child soldiers, and massacres of thousands of local civilians. We are also concerned about reports that the Ugandan Army has been involved in recruitment of child soldiers, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment of detainees and have failed to protect the local population. The conflict has resulted in over one million displaced persons now living in refugee camps. We have raised these issues with the Ugandan government. The UK has responded to the worsening humanitarian situation by working with the international donor community and the World Food Programme (WFP) to bring relief to the affected region. Total UK support was £2.5 million in 2002–03.

Uganda

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the UN Security Council concerning the situation in Northern Uganda; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not raised the situation in northern Uganda with the UN Security Council. While we recognise the Government of Uganda's need for a security response to the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency, we are concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the region caused by the fighting. We have raised our concerns with the Ugandan Government and have encouraged them to consider other solutions to a military one. The UK is also liaising with EU partners and members of the donor community to consider how to help the Government of Uganda resolve the conflict.

UN Arms Embargoes

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government has responded to the requests by the United Nations Security Council for information on violations of arms embargoes in Rwanda by UK companies discussed in the United Security Council document Third Report of the International Commission of Inquiry (Rwanda) (S/1997/1010).

Chris Mullin: The Government takes seriously its responsibilities to ensure UK companies respect arms embargoes. Document S/1997/1010 mentions two requests for information: one to HM Customs and Excise (paragraph 64) and one to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) (paragraph 65). The MOD letter was answered, although the International Commission of Inquiry did not have enough time to follow up on it. The letter to HM Customs and Excise was unanswered at the time of the report, but it is very unlikely that any information about alleged criminal activity or any investigation could be made available. The report did not refer to any unanswered letters addressed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

UN Arms Embargoes

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of traditional tribal demarcations and affinities in developing countries on the effectiveness of UN arms embargoes.

Bill Rammell: No formal study of the impact of traditional tribal demarcations and affinities in developing countries on the effectiveness of UN arms embargoes has been made by Her Majesty's Government.

UN Peacekeeping Operations

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the United Nations on the use of reputable transport suppliers for UN peacekeepers.

Bill Rammell: The Government maintains an on-going dialogue with the United Nations about all aspects of UN peacekeeping missions, including logistics.

Western Sahara

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects a UN authorised referendum to be held on the future of Western Sahara; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The United Kingdom supports fully the efforts of the UN Secretary General and his Personal Envoy, James Baker III, to find a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the Western Sahara dispute that provides for self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.
	In July this year the Security Council called upon the parties to the dispute to work with the United Nations and with each other towards acceptance and implementation of James Baker's Peace Plan which provides for a UN organised referendum after a transitional period. We are encouraging the parties and states of the region to cooperate fully with the Secretary-General and his personal envoy to this end.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Broadband

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of (a) secondary and (b) primary schools in rural areas have a broadband connection.

Charles Clarke: The information is not yet held in the format requested but feedback from Regional Broadband Consortia currently indicates that a significant number of rural schools are already connected to broadband using a range of technologies including radio and satellite. The Department has requested specific information from Regional Broadband Consortia and local education authorities, which, when compiled by November 2003, will give the percentage of rural schools connected.
	In England, 91 per cent. of secondary schools are connected at a minimum of 2 megabits per second, as are 26 per cent. of primary schools.
	The Department is supporting the Government's Broadband Aggregation Project launched in July 2003, which will see the formation of nine Regional Aggregation Bodies tasked with aggregating demand and procuring broadband across the public sector. The project's two key aims are to ensure best value for the public sector's 1 billion investment in broadband and to help stimulate supply in areas where very little broadband is available. The Regional Aggregation Bodies and the Broadband Aggregation Project should significantly improve access to broadband by rural schools.

Circulars

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the circular documents that were sent by his Department to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools between 1 July and 31 August; and how many pages each document contained.

David Miliband: We did not send any documents automatically to either primary schools or to secondary schools in the period, 1 July 2003 to 31 August 2003. The last mailing of documents to schools occurred in June 2003.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall, North of 5 August regarding a constituent, ref: 2003 0050920.

David Miliband: I replied to my hon. Friend's letter of 5 August on 10 September.

Crosby

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the projects to which his Department has allocated funding in Crosby in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The table shows the total recurrent and capital funding allocated to Sefton local education authority between 1997–98 and 2003–04. Separate figures for Crosby are not available.
	
		£ million
		
			 Pupils aged 3–19 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Education Formula Spending —general funding for schools and LEAs 116.5 122.2 128.2 132.0 129.6 143.0 
			 Standards Fund — is paid to LEAs and schools to support national education priorities, focussing on key strategies for reform and improving standards. 1.6 3.2 6.0 9.4 11.6 13.9 
			 3yo Nursery Education Grant—to assist LEAs to reach universal (participation) provision of all 3 year olds. — 0.1 0.8 1.1 1.2 — 
			 4yo Nursery Education Grant— to assist LEAs to reach universal (participation) provision for all 4 year olds. 0.4 0.4 0.3 — — — 
			 Class Size Reduction—to assist schools to reduce class size in ks1 and 2. — 0.4 1.1 1.2 1.0 — 
			 Teacher Green Paper Grants—the main grants in this category are Teacher Threshold payments and Performance pay — — 1.9 3.4 4.0 N/a 
			 Schools Standard Grant—to help schools improve standards and is allocated based on the number, size and type school in each authority. — — 1.8 3.8 3.9 4.8 
			 Learning and Skills Council—is responsible for planning and funding education and training of 6th form school provision. — — — — 9.1 9.8 
			 School Budget Support—paid to LEAs in a particular year to cope with particular school budgetary pressures. — — 0.3 — — — 
			 Education Budget Support—paid to LEAs in a particular year to additional education budget support. — — — 0.9 — — 
			 Post 16 Budget Support—paid in order assist the transition of post 16 funding to the LSC. — — — — 0.6 — 
			 Capital Funding—to improve school buildings. 0.7 1.5 3.3 7.6 8.1 9.1 
			 Total 119.2 127.8 143.7 159.3 169.1 n/a

Crosby

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many classroom assistants were employed in Crosby in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Maintained nursery, primary, middle and secondary schoolsand pupil referral -- Units: Full-time equivalent number of teaching assistantsCrosby Parliamentary Constituency—Position at January each year
		
			  FTE teaching assistants(9) 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1997 89 
			 1998 92 
			 1999 103 
			 2000 123 
			 2001 145 
			 2002(10) 131 
			 2003 157 
		
	
	(9) Includes teaching assistants, special needs support staff and minority ethnic pupil support staff
	(10) Changes in the collection of support staff data in 2002 may have altered the distribution of staff between "teaching assistants" and "other staff" categories, affecting, comparisons with other years.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census

Crosby

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many times he has visited Crosby in his official capacity; and what the purpose was of each visit.

Charles Clarke: I have not visited Crosby in an official capacity since taking up post as Secretary of State for Education and Skills.

Departmental Computer Security

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been (a) budgeted and (b) spent by his Department since April 2002 on (i) combating computer fraud, (ii) preventing theft of computers and (iii) safeguarding the security of information held on computer; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Clarke: This Department manages the security of its information, including information held on its computer systems, in accordance with the guidance given in the Manual of Protective Security; a comprehensive body of policy and interdepartmentally agreed security standards that is issued by the Cabinet Office.
	The Department has an experienced IT security officer and deputy who advise how IT systems should be designed to minimise risk.
	Portable IT equipment In London, at particular risk, is electronically tagged to prevent unauthorised removal and this has contributed to a reduction in the level of theft. The maintenance cost of the tagging system is £15,000 a year.
	All external links to the Department are protected against unauthorised access by firewalls. Anti-virus software protects the Department's systems against malicious software at an annual cost of £45,000.

Deprivation

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures are being taken to raise the aspirations of young pupils in deprived areas; and what progress has been made in encouraging them to attain higher standards.

Ivan Lewis: We are currently investing over £500 million pounds a year in revenue funding to raise the aspirations and achievements of young pupils in deprived areas through the Excellence in Cities programme. The programme covers 58 authorities as well as Excellence Clusters which tackle smaller pockets of deprivation. It includes some 1,000 secondary schools and over 1,000 primaries. In addition to providing Learning Mentors Learning Support Units enhanced opportunities for Gifted and Talented pupils and EiC Action Zones and City Learning Centres, the funding also provides for the delivery of Behaviour Improvement Plans, Leadership Incentive Grant and Aim Higher which is specifically designed to raise aspirations and widen access to Higher Education.
	OFSTED's recent report on Excellence In Cities found that: schools and teachers had been helped to meet the needs of disaffected and vulnerable pupils more effectively; exclusions are being reduced; attendance is improving at a faster rate in the schools involved in the programme; and the introduction of the programme has been associated with a faster rise in standards in secondary schools in EiC areas than nationally .
	As well as the additional support provided through the Governments targeted initiatives we are aiming to raise the aspirations and educational performance of pupils in deprived areas through mainstream programmes. The mainstream Primary and KS3 National Strategies are built on the principle that all children are capable of attaining high standards.

Deprivation

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in what circumstances children in deprived areas are paid to attend (a) school, (b) sixth form college, (c) further education colleges; and what guidance he has issued on how much is granted on a weekly basis.

Ivan Lewis: Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is currently running as a pilot scheme in 56 Local Education Authority (LEA) areas in England. The pilots have tested eight variants of payment arrangements for EMA, two of which concentrate on the costs of transport. The maximum weekly payments vary from £20 to £40 assessed on income levels up to £30,000. Guidance on the pilot arrangements is made available through the LEAs.
	From September 2004 EMAs will be made available across England, offering a weekly payment of up to £30, paid directly to young people who stay on in further education after they reach statutory leaving age. Young people may also receive bonuses if they remain on their course and make good progress with their learning. A leaflet explaining the national EMA scheme was published in August this year and copies are available in the House of Commons Library.
	For young people with specific needs there is financial support available through the Learner Support Funds, providing help towards transport costs, books and equipment, residential allowances and help with childcare.
	The support arrangements for school leavers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved administrations.

Gifted Pupils

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils attended the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth in 2003; how many places were available; and what proportion of the pupils attended non-specialist, non-selective maintained schools.

David Miliband: 522 students took part in the 2003 summer schools provided by the Academy, against a planning assumption of 900 places. 82 per cent. were from non-selective, maintained schools. Data was not collected on numbers from specialist schools.
	The Academy provides a range of services and support to its members in addition to the summer schools, including on-line communities, research material and outreach events. 621 Academy members took part in such outreach events during the pilot year. In the 2003–04 academic year, the Academy is planning over 200 events reaching a potential 6,000 participants. Membership of the Academy currently stands at 2,022 with applications arriving at a rate of 75 each week.

Gurkhas (Children's Education)

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the children of Gurkha soldiers, stationed in this country attending British schools are classified as (a) home and (b) overseas students for the purposes of university fees.

Alan Johnson: Universities and higher education colleges decide whether to classify students as "home" or "overseas" for tuition fee purposes using the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1997, as amended. To qualify for home fee status under these regulations, students at higher education institutions normally need to have been resident in the UK for three years before the start of their course, and have "settled status" under the Immigration Act 1971.

Implementation Review Unit

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role school governors will play in (a) the new Implementation Review Unit and (b) the Monitoring Group; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 14 July 2003
	We are proposing to set up termly meetings between the panel of the new Implementation Review Unit (IRU) and governor organisations The IRU is also keen to hear from individual school governors on particular workload burdens they would most like tackled and any constructive time-saving examples from their school that could be used more widely. Governors will be notified of IRU contact details in the September "Governors" newsletter.
	Earlier this year I met with representatives of the National Governors' Council and the National Association of Governors and Managers to discuss how best to ensure that school governing bodies are fully involved in the implementation of the National Agreement and the work of the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group (WAMG).
	Following these discussions, my Department has set up a regular forum between governors' representatives and the WAMG. The first took place on 27 June; a further one-day seminar was held on 21 July. One of the outcomes will be the development and distribution of specific materials for school governors to help them contribute to workforce reform.

Learning and Skills Council

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on redundancies likely to be involved in restructuring of the Learning and Skills Council and its local councils.

Alan Johnson: The Learning and Skills Council is undertaking a reshaping exercise which is designed to build on its existing strengths, to enhance its capacity to work with partners to develop and to implement the strategies necessary to achieve national targets for skills and learning, while streamlining routine administrative arrangements. At the end of its reshaping the LSC will have significantly fewer staff. The LSC intends to manage these reductions through a process of voluntary severance as far as possible.
	John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Gentleman with more information about the reshaping exercise and place a copy of his reply in the Library.

Learning and Skills Council

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the budget of the Learning and Skills Council was for each of the last three years; and what the predicted budget is in each of the next three years.

Alan Johnson: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) assumed many of its responsibilities under the Learning and Skills Act 2000 from 1 April 2001 and for funding of school sixth forms from 1 April 2002. The amounts of its budgets for each financial year from 2001–02, as notified in the relevant Grant Letters to the LSC are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2001–02 5,536.000 
			 2002–03 7,310.890 
			 2003–04 8,095.374 
			 2004–05 8,618.254 
			 2005–06 9,200.308 
		
	
	The LSC's budget for 2006–07 is dependent on the outcome of the 2004 Spending Review.

Level 2 Qualification

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what local discretion he will allow to (a) further education colleges and (b) local learning and skills councils in determining entitlement to free study for a Level 2 qualification.

Alan Johnson: The eligibility criteria for the new entitlement to free learning at Level 2, announced in the Skills Strategy White Paper, will be determined nationally. Our intention is to encourage those not already qualified at full Level 2 to achieve at that level. However, further education colleges will continue to have the discretion to waive fees for learners studying at Level 2 who are not covered by the national entitlement.

Modern Apprenticeships

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the success rates for modern apprenticeships as set out in Statistical First Release ISR/SFR 25 issued on 24 July; what plans he has to improve these rates; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The success rates for Modern Apprenticeships (MA) published in July were issued for the first time in this form. The rates vary widely between sectors and some will need to improve markedly if we are to achieve our ambition to revitalise and expand apprenticeship programmes. However, the latest figures we have do show that overall MA success rates have increased to 39 per cent. in the year to January 2003. While this improvement is significant and sustained we and the Learning and Skills Council are not complacent. We need to do more.
	We have asked the Modern Apprenticeship Task Force, chaired by Sir Roy Gardner, to focus on this issue. They and the LSC are doing so sector by sector.
	In addition as part of the 'Success for All' programme the LSC has introduced minimum performance levels from 2003/04 for all providers, including those of MAs. These should be achieved by 2005/06. The LSC will rigorously monitor and review progress with each of its providers against these targets. Where performance is not satisfactory the LSC will take decisive action with the provider concerned up to and including the withdrawal of contracts.

Older Workers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy (a) to monitor the participation levels of various age cohorts of adults and (b) to set targets to reduce the drop-off of learning from age 40 onwards.

Charles Clarke: The Department and partner bodies do already monitor participation levels, and other factors such as attitudes and experiences of learning, through a number of sources including the Labour Force Survey, the Learning and Skills Council's Individualised Learner Record, the National Adult Learning Survey and NIACE surveys. Age of learner is an important factor in all of these sources and the Department regularly undertakes analyses based on age. Many of the publications based on these sources do contain breakdowns by age. Results from the 2002 NIACE survey on adult participation showed that the proportion of 35 to 44-year-olds who were current/recent learners had increased from 43 per cent. in 1996 to 49 per cent. in 2002. Participation among 45 to 54-year-olds increased from 36 per cent. to 44 per cent. over the same period. These increases are greater than for younger age groups.
	The Government recognises the importance of encouraging all people, regardless of age, to participate in learning and increase their skills and is committed to safeguard the provision of a wide range of earning for adults for culture, leisure community and personal fulfilment purposes with a better choice of opportunities to encourage adults back into learning. Through our Success for All reforms we will raise standards, increase participation and improve outcomes for learners and employers. We have introduced targets for learner numbers and learner success rates, including new national floor targets which set out the minimum acceptable levels of performance for colleges and other providers to be met or exceeded by 2006. These are aimed at improving the responsiveness and quality of provision to meet the needs of learners at all ages. The recently published Skills Strategy includes the new guarantee of free tuition for any adult without a good foundation of employability skills to get the training that they need to achieve such a qualification, known as a Level 2 qualification—explicitly noting that a higher than average proportion of older workers do not possess a Level 2 qualification.
	The Government has set itself stretching targets to increase the basic skill levels of 1.5 million adults by 2007 and to reduce by 40 per cent. the number of adults without a qualification at NVQ level 2 or its equivalent by 2010. These targets will only be achieved if those over the age of 40 increase their participation and attainment in learning. Government believes that targets focused on ensuring all individuals achieve minimum levels of skill are the most appropriate for meeting the needs of the economy and society.

Older Workers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the implications of extending modern apprenticeships to all age groups.

Ivan Lewis: Our Skills Strategy, "21st Century Skills—Realising Our Potential", explained that we are committed to removing the age cap on Modern Apprenticeships in response to industry's concern that it constitutes a barrier to meeting their skill needs. As a first step, we have changed the rules so that, from 1 August 2003, young people who start their Modern Apprenticeship at any point up to their 25th birthday can complete it. Beyond that, we will invite the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to put forward their proposals to design and implement a Modern Apprenticeship programme for adults in their sector as part of the new Sector Skills Agreements. It will be for individual SSCs, the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and key partners including employers to assess the implications of this change for particular sectors. They will do so taking account of the need to maintain high standards; current budget limitations; and forthcoming European age discrimination legislation.

Pupil Exclusions

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) primary schools, (b) city technology colleges, (c) other secondary schools and (d) special schools have been fined for excluding pupils in each year since 1998; if he will list each school; and what the size was of the fine for each individual school affected.

David Miliband: Schools have never been fined for excluding pupils. Between 1999 and 2003 they received more than £350 million in specific funding for preventive work with pupils at risk of exclusion in addition to the normal delegated funding for those pupils. If a pupil was excluded LEAs were able to recover between £2,000 and £6,000 from schools to help pay for alternative provision. LEAs were not required to give the Department details of such recoveries. Funding for preventive work and provision for permanently excluded pupils is now mainstreamed so LEAs and schools determine resourcing arrangements locally.

Pupil Exclusions

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent correspondence he has had with the teacher unions on the exclusion of pupils from schools; and if he will place that correspondence in the Library.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no recent correspondence with the teacher unions on the exclusion of pupils from schools.

Teachers

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the life expectancy of (a) male and (b) female teachers in post aged (i) 50 to 55 and (ii) 55 to 60; and whether he has compared his estimates with those for other professionals in the same age groups.

David Miliband: Based on the Government Actuary's recent valuation of the Teachers' Pension Scheme, average life expectancy for teachers in each of the age groups is:
	
		
			  Years 
		
		
			 Males  
			 Aged 50–55 33 
			 Aged 55–60 28 
			   
			 Females  
			 Aged 50–55 36 
			 Aged 55–60 31 
		
	
	In carrying out the valuation, the Government Actuary did not make any direct comparisons of life expectancy with other professions.

Training Initiatives

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which publicly funded training initiatives are open to (a) EU nationals of other member states resident in the UK and (b) asylum seekers.

Ivan Lewis: European Union (EU) nationals and their dependants resident in the UK or elsewhere in the European Economic Area for the previous three years are eligible for further education (FE). EU nationals are also eligible for work based learning for young people, which consists of the Entry to Employment and Modern Apprenticeship initiatives, and are eligible for local authority organised adult education.
	Asylum seekers and their dependants who are supported by the National Asylum Support Service or similar, are eligible for FE. Unaccompanied asylum seekers aged 16–18 in the care of social services are also eligible for FE. Asylum seekers are not eligible for Modern Apprenticeships but may be accepted on to Entry to Employment courses. Eligibility for access to local authority organised adult education is generally in line with that for FE but local authorities have discretion to set their own criteria and might make provision available to additional categories of asylum seekers.

TRANSPORT

Air Terrorism (Electronic Countermeasures)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 7 January 2003, Official Report, column 98W, 
	(1)  on commercial aircraft terrorism, if he will make a statement about progress made in seeking specialist advice on fitting electronic countermeasures to UK civil aviation fleets over and above Goodrich Video Surveillance apparatus;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with UK commercial aircraft operators about fitting electronic counter measures to UK civil aviation fleets.

Tony McNulty: The Department is engaged in continuing work with a number of parties on measures, including on-board electronic systems, for countering the threat from shoulder-launched weapons. Those parties include UK aircraft operators. It would not be appropriate on security grounds to disclose the progress of this work.

Aircraft Security

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the security risks posed by (a) glass bottles and (b) minor household items, with particular reference to nail files, aboard aircraft.

Tony McNulty: As part of the heightened security measures introduced in September 2001, airports and airlines are required not to allow into an airport's Restricted Zone, or into the cabin of an aircraft, any item which could potentially be used as a weapon. The list of prohibited items, which was provided, is not exhaustive, and includes a requirement to remove from passengers any other article which the airport or airline reasonably consider might be used, or adapted, for causing injury. All of the measures in the National Aviation Security Programme are kept under permanent review.

Biofuels

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he intends to implement the EU guidelines for biofuel use in road transport of 2 per cent. use by the end of 2005 and 5.75 per cent. use by the end of 2010.

Kim Howells: The Government intend to consult with key stakeholders on UK implementation of this legislation early next year. This consultation will cover the level of indicative targets for both 2005 and 2010.

Road Transport Fuels

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what percentage by weight of road transport fuel LPG/CNG has provided over the last 12 months;
	(2)  what incentives are in place for motorists to use LPG/CNG; and how long these have been in place;
	(3)  what percentage by weight of UK road transport fuel is expected to be biofuels by the end of (a) 2005 and (b) 2010;
	(4)  what incentives are in place for motorists to use biodiesel and bioethanol; and how long these have been in place.

David Jamieson: Figures supplied by HM Customs and Excise indicate that the percentage of all road transport fuel, by volume, of road fuel gases provided between July 2002 and June 2003 was 0.39 per cent.
	The Government support the take-up of LPG and natural gas vehicles through both the fuel duty incentives for road fuel gases, which have been in place since 1995, and the grants, which have been available since, towards the purchase of LPG and natural gas vehicles, which are available through the PowerShift programme. In addition, discounts apply to alternatively fuelled cars under the carbon dioxide emissions based company car tax and graduated Vehicle Excise Duty regimes. As announced in Budget 2003, the Government have been consulting stakeholders on how best to ensure that future support for road fuel gases continues to reflect environmental and other policy objectives, with a view to announcing decisions in the 2003 Pre-Budget Report.
	We recognise that biofuels also have a role to play in reducing the environmental impact of road transport. In recognition of these benefits, the Government have introduced a reduced rate of duty for biodiesel of 20p/l below that for conventional ULSD. Since introduction of this rate in July 2002, production of biodiesel has increased more than 10 fold to over two million litres a month. A similar incentive 20p/l in the rate for bioethanol is due to be introduced on 1 January 2005.
	The Government intend to consult with all key stakeholders on UK implementation of the Biofuels Directive, which requires the UK to set indicative targets for the use of biofuels in road transport for both 2005 and 2010. Publication of the consultation paper is due in the first half of next year.

Highways Authority

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he intends to take to amend or remove Highways Authority Performance Indicators BVPI 100 and BVPI 96.

David Jamieson: BVPI 96 measures the condition of the carriageway on principal roads. BVPI 100 measures the duration of temporary traffic controls on traffic sensitive roads. A road may be defined as traffic sensitive at certain times of day only. Although temporary traffic controls or road closure may be necessary to carry out road repairs, BVPI 100 encourages authorities to plan these measures to take place outside traffic sensitive times, thereby minimising disruption to traffic.

Low Emission Zones

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consult hon. Members before he authorises the introduction of traffic low emission zones.

Kim Howells: My Department is currently undertaking a public consultation exercise on proposals to change the regulations concerning Traffic Regulation Conditions (TRC) that the Traffic Commissioner can apply to registered local bus services in a particular area (outside London). This will cover, among other things, the power to specify minimum emission limits that vehicles affected by a TRC would have to meet.
	The consultation document can be found on my Department's website at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft localtrans/documents/page/dft localtra 023519.hcsp. The consultation period ends on 3 October.

Low Emission Zones

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) discussions and (b) representations he has had on the introduction of low emission zones; who was involved; and if he will make a statement on what was agreed.

Kim Howells: We are aware of the consideration of Low Emission Zones (LEZ), as one way of reducing emissions in areas where there are air quality problems. The National Society for Clean Air (NSCA), together with the Association for London Government (ALG) and the Greater London Authority (GLA) are jointly investigating the possibility of introducing a London-wide LEZ. The London Low Emission Zone Feasibility Study—Phase II Final report has been published in July this year (available on website www.london-lez.org) and I understand that the findings of the study are being considered for further action. The NSCA consulted on a recommended standard for National Low Emission Zones in May. However I understand that further research will be necessary before an agreed standard may be announced.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the sites of special scientific interest in the ownership of his Department or its agencies.

Tony McNulty: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is the owner of one site designated as being SSSI. This site is at Prawle Point in Devon.
	The Highways Agency is the owner/part owner of 43 sites within the operational estate and two sites within the non-operational estate, designated as being SSSIs. The sites are as follows:
	Operational estate:
	Severn Estuary
	Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain
	River Kennet
	River Lambourn
	Aston Rowant
	Devil's Dyke
	Tebay Road Cuttings
	Ashburton Road Cuttings
	Buckland-in-the-Moor
	Slop Bog and Uddens Heath
	Epping Forest
	Purfleet Road, Aveley
	River Wye
	River Test
	The New Forest
	Hurcott and Podmore Pools
	River Lugg
	River Wye, Hereford and Worcester
	Wilton Bluff, Ross
	Ashwell Springs
	Northaw Great Wood
	Sherrards Park Wood
	Therfield Heath
	Castlethorpe Tufas
	Humber Flats and Marshes: Upper Humber
	Folkestone Warren
	Ant Broads and Marshes
	Potter and Scarning Fens
	Southfield Farm Marsh
	River Coquet and Coquet Valley Woodlands
	Aston Rowant Cutting
	Sugworth
	River Severn at Montford
	Doxey and Tillington Marshes
	Orwell Estuary
	Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons
	Titsey Woods
	Griff Hill Quarry
	River Blythe
	Stockton Railway Cutting and Quarry
	Ufton Fields
	Bingley South Bog
	Hook Moor
	Non-operational estate:
	Plot 1—Bescott Viaduct, Walsall, West Midlands
	Land adjoining M3 and River Itchen, Itchen Abbas, Hampshire
	To the best of our knowledge these are the only SSSI on the DfT estate.

Station Facilities

Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action the Strategic Rail Authority is taking to ensure that train operating companies improve (a) train station facilities and (b) access for disabled people.

Tony McNulty: Those bidding for new and replacement franchises will be asked to price various options, including improved station facilities, which the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) could consider taking forward at any time during the life of the franchise. On 27 August 2003, the SRA announced a programme of investment of £25 million in Modern Facilities at Stations. This will provide enhanced facilities at 68 stations. The SRA's Code of Practice on Train and Station Services for Disabled Passengers sets out standards on accessibility. Train and station operators have been asked to review their Disabled Peoples Protection Policies to identify and prioritise accessibility improvements.

US Warship Disposal

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Health and Safety Executive has granted an exemption from the Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations to former US naval ships seeking passage to Teesside for demolition.

David Jamieson: HSE issued an exemption certificate to the Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations to Able UK Ltd. on 5 September 2003. This allows the importation of 13 ships from the US Government reserve fleet into Teesside for decommissioning and recycling and disposal of the asbestos subject to conditions.
	A copy of the exemption certificate including those conditions will be placed in the House Libraries and on the HSE asbestos website.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Older Workers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what plans he has to introduce incentives for people to work beyond the age of 60; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans he has to abolish normal retirement ages; if he will make it his policy (a) to increase the state pension and (b) to devise incentives for those who continue in work; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: The Government's Green Paper—"Simplicity, Security and Choice: Working and saving for retirement", (CM5677) issued in December 2002, outlined a number of incentives to help people continue in work up to and over state pension age.
	From 2003, we will introduce a package of intensive back to work help for people aged 50 and over including extending the support available through new deal 50 plus. The working tax credit now includes additional elements for eligible people aged 50 or over who move into work for 16 hours a week or more.
	From 2005, we will be looking at changes to the tax rules to allow people to continue working for the sponsoring employer while drawing their occupational pension and consulting on best practice to ensure that occupational pension rules do not discourage flexible working.
	The Government's Green Paper also recognised that the state pension has a role to play in encouraging flexible retirement. We therefore published proposals to improve the reward for deferring state pension from 2006 by increasing the rate at which weekly increments can be earned, and offering an alternative to increments in the form of a taxable lump sum payment. We will be announcing our plans on this proposal in due course.
	In October 2006, we will implement anti-age discrimination legislation covering employment and vocational training. This will include making compulsory retirement ages unlawful except in those cases where employers can show they are objectively justified.
	And from 2010, as state pension ages start to equalise, as well as looking at policies to treat men and women aged between 60 and women's new state pension age as active labour market participants, we also propose to raise the earliest age that a pension may be taken from age 50 to age 55, to further promote the benefits of extending working life for both employee and employer.
	Alongside the implementation of these policies, we will continue to work to change employers' attitudes through our Age Positive campaign, and through the development of good practice guidance materials with employer organisations and other external partners. This work will help ensure opportunity for all and remove discriminatory practices, which encourage involuntary withdrawal from the labour market and early retirement.
	The Government are currently consulting on options for outlawing age discrimination in employment and vocational training under the European Employment Directive. The Age Matters consultation document launched on 2 July includes proposals for tackling employers' mandatory retirement ages—that is, the ages employers set for the compulsory retirement of their employees. Under the directive, compulsory retirement ages will be unlawful unless they can be objectively justified. The Government will decide how to tackle this once it has analysed and considered the responses to the consultation. Age Matters also explains that we shall take advantage of the directive's provisions that allow occupational pension schemes to set ages for admission or entitlement to retirement benefits. Such normal pension ages are necessary for the operation of defined benefit schemes.

Operation Gangmaster

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations Operation Gangmaster has (a) sought and (b) received from (i) local authorities, (ii) primary care trusts, (iii) chambers of commerce and (iv) locally based government agencies.

Chris Pond: Operation Gangmaster has neither sought nor received representations from local authorities, primary care trusts or chambers of commerce. However, we have involved the following organisations on a regional basis as partners in Operation Gangmaster:
	Department for Work and Pensions
	Inland Revenue
	H M Customs and Excise
	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	Department of Trade and Industry
	Health and Safety Executive
	U.K. Immigration Service
	National Asylum Support Service
	Uniform and Plain Clothes Police Officers
	National Criminal Intelligence Service
	Scottish Executive
	Social Services

Child Support

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of progress in the implementation of the new child support system; when the full transfer of child support cases onto the new system will take place; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: A report on progress in the implementation of the new child support scheme was placed in the Library on 14 July 2003. We have made it clear that we shall only make a decision on the transfer of old scheme cases once we are sure that the new scheme is working well.

Employment Statistics

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the most recent employment statistics;
	(2)  what the change in the level of unemployment in the Crosby constituency has been since 1997.

Des Browne: Latest statistics show that employment is at record levels and that the number of people in work continues to grow. Employment has risen by 63,000 in the last quarter, 224,000 over the last year and by more than 1.5 million since 1997.
	The improvement in the labour market has been spread right across the country. Since 1997, unemployment rates have fallen fastest in the areas with the highest unemployment. In Crosby, claimant unemployment has nearly halved since 1997, while the number of long-term unemployed claimants has fallen by 70 per cent.

Incapacity Benefit

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of Incapacity Benefit there are; and how many there were in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: The information is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of recipients of Incapacity Benefit and its predecessors 
		
		
			 2 April 1994 1,809,000 
			 12 April 1995 1,894,000 
			 29 February 1996 1,813,000 
			 28 February 1997 1,749,000 
			 28 February 1998 1,671,000 
			 28 February 1999 1,557,000 
			 29 February 2000 1,504,000 
			 28 February 2001 1,515,000 
			 28 February 2002 1,497,000 
			 28 February 2003 1,506,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.
	2. Incapacity Benefit replaced Sickness and Invalidity Benefits from 13 April 1995.
	3. Figures for 1994 and 1995 are taken from a 1 per cent. sample of claims to
	benefit.
	4. From February 1996 onwards figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample of the benefit computer system and will exclude a small number of clerically held
	cases.
	5. Figures include a small number of people resident overseas.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. samples.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of pensioners (a) entitled to Minimum Income Guarantee and (b) who were not claiming it in each of the last five years.

Chris Pond: Estimates of the number of recipients and entitled non-recipients of Minimum Income Guarantee can be found in editions of the annual DWP and DSS statistical report "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up"—copies of which are available in the Library. Estimates for 2000–01, the latest year for which information is available, incorporate results of research which improved the quality of statistics relating to the Minimum Income Guarantee. Estimates for 2000–01 are, therefore, not on a fully consistent basis with past figures.
	Notes:
	1. Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up published annually by DSS and DWP contains estimates of both the number of MIG (and formerly pensioner Income Support) recipients and the number of pensioners that appeared to be entitled to but not in receipt of the benefit. The vast majority of the count of recipients will be entitled but the estimates will also include a small unquantifiable proportion that are not.
	2. Annual changes in MIG rates and improvements in the approach to estimating take-up can affect estimates of MIG entitled non-recipients. Past estimates of take-up are not reworked to reflect these changes and therefore results are not strictly comparable over time. Estimates for 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000 employ the same methodology. Results relating to 2000–01 have benefited from research and the latest estimates are therefore on a different basis to previous years.

New Deal

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received from (a) employers and (b) participants on the New Deal; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: We receive representations on behalf of employers through the National Employer Panel which is an employer-led body providing independent advice to Ministers on the design, delivery and performance of the UK Government's labour market policies and programmes. Its remit encompasses all the New Deals and other welfare to work activities delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus and partner organisations at the national and local levels. The Panel reports on a regular basis to my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State also receives advice from the 10 employer coalitions throughout the country who work with Jobcentre Plus districts to engage local businesses and open job opportunities for people disadvantaged in the labour market.
	We also receive many representations from participants in the New Deal. These are dealt with on an individual basis with regard to the circumstances of each case.

Pension Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls have been made to the Pension Credit telephone application line; and of that number how many have resulted in (a) successful claims and (b) unsuccessful claims.

Chris Pond: The Pension Credit application line received a total of approximately 413,000 calls between 7 April 2003, when it became operational, and 31 August. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his written statement on progress on 14 July 2003, Official Report, columns 6–7WS, there are over 1.1 million pensioner households already on our systems ready to be paid Pension Credit from October. We intend from November to publish monthly reports on the progress of Pension Credit take-on, which will include information on the number of applications.

Pension Reform

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his plans for pension reform.

Chris Pond: We have recognised the need to reform the pension system of the UK. Our approach has been, in the first instance, to focus additional spending on the poorest pensioners. This means achieving a balance between providing a solid foundation of support for all while targeting support at those who need it most. Pension Credit will, from October guarantee everyone (who applies and qualifies) aged 60 and over an income of at least £102.10 a week for single pensioners, (£155.80 for couples). These amounts will be more if pensioners have caring responsibilities, are severely disabled or have housing costs.
	For the first time, Pension Credit will reward people aged 65 with modest savings or income. In the past, those who had managed to save a little were left no better off than those who had not saved at all. People who had capital of £12,000 or more could get no help however low their income.
	Pension Credit will change this by giving new money to those 65 and over who have saved. This will be worth up to £14.79 for single pensioners, £19.20 for couples.
	Pension Credit is radically different from the Minimum Income Guarantee in that pound for pound deductions will be scrapped. And the credit will reward those over 65 with total weekly incomes up to £139 for single pensioners, £203 for couples. Around half of all pensioner households will be eligible and stand to gain around £400 a year on average.
	The basic State Pension will remain the foundation of income in retirement on which to build. Between April 2000 and April 2003 the basic State Pension has increased by almost £10 a week for a single pensioner and £16 a week for a couple. This represents an increase of over 7 per cent. in real terms. We will continue to uprate by either 2.5 per cent. or RPI, whichever is higher for the remainder of this Parliament.
	We have recognised the importance of a good second pension by reforming SERPS. From April 2002, 20 million people—2.5 million carers, 2.5 million long-term disabled people and 15 million low to moderate earners—begin to benefit by building up a State Second Pension.
	The Government also introduced Winter Fuel Payments (WFP) for people aged 60 and over. The WFP is £200 a year for qualifying households and will continue to be paid at this rate throughout this Parliament.
	People aged 80 or over who are entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment will get an extra £100 per household. This is the 80+ annual payment which will be paid as part of the Winter Fuel Payment, to those who are aged 80 or over in the qualifying week (15–21 September this year).
	The Government have also introduced free TV licences for the over 75s and there have been increases above the rate of inflation to the Pensioners' Tax Allowances.
	In 2003–04, the Government will be spending around £8 billion extra a year on pensioners as a result of policies introduced since 1997. This includes £3.75 billion more on the poorest third of pensioners. This is almost six times more than an earnings link to the basic State Pension since 1998 would have provided.
	We have also recognised that there is a need to address reform of private pension provision. Our Green Paper 'Simplicity, security and choice: Working and saving for retirement' set out our proposals to radically simplify the pensions system including reducing eight tax regimes into one, ensure that individuals have access to the right information to make informed pensions savings choices and ensure that older workers can access the employment opportunities they deserve and balance this with flexible retirement choices.
	To build on this, after the largest consultation on pensions ever, we published 'Working and Saving for retirement: Action on occupational pensions' in June which introduced a balanced package of measures to assist employers in providing occupational pension schemes while ensuring protection for pension scheme members. We will set up a Pension Protection Fund, the first ever protection scheme for defined benefit pensions, bring in measures to ensure that where a solvent company chooses to wind up its scheme it will fully buy-out members benefits and establish a pensions regulator that will target badly run and high risk schemes in order to put consumers first.
	There is a need to engage with employers to re-invigorate the pensions partnership and that is why we have set up the Employer Task Force to identify and promote employer lead solutions. We also have accepted that there is a need to consider the voluntarist system in the longer term and to monitor progress independently. Therefore we have set up the Pensions Commission to monitor and keep under review the system of private pensions and long-term savings.
	There is also a need to make individuals aware of their pension provision—both from the State and private saving. That is why we are extending combined state and private pensions forecasts through a concerted and targeted campaign. We will continue to develop a web-based retirement planner and will pilot a scheme for employer-based information. All these measures will seek to enable individuals to make the right pensions choices from a more knowledgeable position.
	We have recognised the need for pension reform from both a State and private perspective and will continue to press ahead with our proposals of targeting resources and expanding provision.

Pensioners

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Eltham have benefited from the minimum income guarantee; and what the overall amount paid out through the guarantee to pensioners in Eltham was in the last 12 months.

Chris Pond: The number of pensioners to have benefited from the minimum income guarantee in Eltham during the last 12 months is 2,200. The average annual payment to each pensioner household was £2,400.
	Notes:
	1. The overall amount is based on the 12 month period ending February, 2003.
	2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	3. Caseload figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
	4. Parliamentary constituencies have been assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode.
	5. £2,400 is rounded to the nearest £50, and figures at a local level are subject to greater margins of error than national figures.

Pensioners

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average gain of pensioners in Eltham has been from the Minimum Income Guarantee.

Chris Pond: The average weekly amount of Minimum Income Guarantee received by pension age households in Eltham at February 2003 was £46.30.
	Notes:
	1. The source of the data is the IAD Information Centre.
	2. The figure is based on a 5 per cent. sample and is therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	3. The average weekly amount figure has been rounded to the nearest 1p.
	4. Parliamentary constituencies have been assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	5. Pension age is defined as men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over.

Pensioners

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total paid out since May 1997 to increase pensioner incomes has been; and what has been the average gain per pensioner (a) in the UK and (b) in Eltham.

Chris Pond: The information requested is not available at constituency level, but the total paid out since May 1997 to increase pensioner incomes for the UK is shown in the table.
	
		£ billion
		
			  Total DWP 
			  Expenditure on pensioners Discretionary spending on pensioners 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1998–99 56.5 0.2 
			 1999–2000 58.6 1.4 
			 2000–01 60.5 2.8 
			 2001–02 63.6 5.1 
			 2002–03 65.1 6.4 
			 2003–04 66.8 8.0 
		
	
	Following the introduction of the pension credit the average pensioner household will be £1,250 per year, or £24 per week, better off than in 1997 due to the Government's personal tax and benefit changes.
	Notes: (a) The information shown is based upon the Family Resources Survey. (b) Discretionary spending refers to additional spending as a result of changes to pension policy since 1997. This is a subset of total spending. (c) Figures are in £ billion rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion, in 2003–04 price terms. (d) Figures include expenditure on all benefits.

Post Office Card Accounts

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 15 July 2003, Official Report, column 160W, what the current indication of the final number of Post Office card accounts is, rounded to the nearest 100,000; on what data his statement that the final number would be significantly above 3 million was based; if he will place the data in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: It is impossible to predict accurately how many customers will eventually choose to open a Post Office card account as this will be based on customer choice. But based on current take-up, with around a million having said they want to open a Post Office card account, the card account is proving very popular and we now expect the total number of card accounts to exceed our operating assumption of 3 million.

Winter Fuel Payment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Wales, (b) Cardiff and (c) Cardiff, West will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments in 2003–04.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is shown in the table.
	The number of people who received a 2002–03 Winter Fuel Payment was:
	
		
			  All Men Women 
		
		
			 Wales 629,025 279,860 349,170 
			 Cardiff West Constituency 14,135 6,135 8,000 
			 Cardiff Local Authority 54,115 23,555 30,560 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
	2. Figures taken from the Matching Intelligence Data Analysis Service Winter Fuels
	Payment 2002–03 exercise.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample.
	We would expect the figures for 2003–04 to be similar.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress on the CVF programme; and how work will be shared between Thales and BAe Systems.

Adam Ingram: The CVF Programme is still in the Assessment Phase and we expect to award the Demonstration and Manufacture (D&M) contract in spring 2004, as planned. Discussions on how work will be shared between the companies are progressing well as part of the negotiations on the alliance arrangements. Final arrangements will be confirmed with the award of the D&M contract next year.

Aircraft Carriers

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions with the defence manufacturers have taken place on reducing the (a) size of the aircraft carriers and (b) number of aircraft carried; and if he will make a statement on how such changes affect power projection.

Adam Ingram: Regular discussions occur between the future carrier (CVF) project team, BAeSystems and Thales United Kingdom as part of the routine business of the Assessment Phase. This phase is intended to reduce risk in emerging design solutions and balance the key parameters of performance, time and cost in order to best meet our developing capability requirements, both in terms of the ships themselves and in the aircraft they will operate. Power projection is a fundamental part of this capability requirement.
	The CVF programme is currently midway through this assessment phase. The key specifications in capability terms will be determined prior to the award of the Demonstration and Manufacture contract, currently planned for spring 2004.

Aircraft Carriers

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy that the full sized carriers will be procured for the Royal Navy as originally intended; and what plans he has to ensure that the in-service date is kept.

Adam Ingram: In the Strategic Defence Review published in 1998, it was envisaged that the two new Future Aircraft Carriers would be in the order of 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes and be capable of carrying up to 50 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The intention, as with any other new equipment project, has always been to refine the design during the Assessment Phase in order to best meet our developing capability requirements. The Carrier programme is currently in this assessment phase. The key specifications in capability terms will be determined prior to the award of the Demonstration and Manufacture (D&M) contract, currently planned for spring 2004.
	Our target in-service dates for the two carriers remain 2012 and 2015 respectively.

Army Personnel (Self-Harm)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 9 September 2003, ref. 127070, if he will make it his policy to collate data centrally concerning incidents of self harm in army barracks; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: I take the issue of self-harm in the armed forces extremely seriously. The collation of data in this area is complex, due to the number of agencies involved and the sensitivity of the information. However, I have commissioned work to trial the collection and analysis of the existing information for the Army. This work is due to report back later this year.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in the arrangements for the EU to assume the NATO peacekeeping mandate in Bosnia; and whether (a) NATO and (b) the United States has accepted the EU decision of December 2002.

Geoff Hoon: At its meeting in December 2002 the European Council indicated the European Union's willingness to lead a military operation in Bosnia following the NATO SFOR mission. No decisions have been taken, however, on the end date of the SFOR operation or on the arrangements for any follow-on mission. Discussions continue and no decision will be taken without full consultation between all interested parties.

Charmaine Maeer

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigations his Department carried out into the allegations made by Charmaine Maeer; on what basis she was discharged from the Army; what pension or benefit she received as a result of her discharge; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: No investigation has been carried out as no complaint has been received. I am unable to make public any personal details concerning Charmaine Maeer's discharge and pension without her explicit written consent.

Chatham Dockyard (Radiation Records)

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former Chatham Dockyard workers who received estimated radiation dose records were advised that their estimated records were (a) above and (b) below the recommended level of exposure.

Ivor Caplin: There was no statutory or MOD requirement to record numbers of former Chatham Dockyard workers for whom estimated doses were entered in their radiation dose records and therefore it is not possible to supply the numbers requested. However, those individuals who were involved in incidents at the dockyard, such as exceeding a statutory dose limit, would have been involved in the investigation and therefore would have been aware of the outcome.

Deepcut and Catterick Barracks

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will order a public inquiry into the way that unnatural deaths at (a) Deepcut and (b) Catterick barracks have been investigated;
	(2)  if he will order an inquiry into the way that unnatural deaths at Deepcut Barracks have been investigated.

Adam Ingram: The civilian police have primacy in investigating such deaths within the armed forces. Given that investigations are yet to conclude, calls for a public or other inquiry into the way that unnatural deaths have been investigated are premature.

Defence Fire Service

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Defence Fire Service.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Fire Service continues to provide excellent support to the Ministry of Defence.
	Over the last year in addition to its normal duties, the Service successfully provided vital assistance during the fire fighters dispute, including training those members of the armed forces deployed on emergency fire fighting duties. Members of the Defence Fire Service were also deployed to the Gulf in February this year and continue to be engaged in support of operations in Iraq.

Destroyers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to change the number of type 42 destroyers in service; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There are at present no plans to change the number of Royal Navy type 42 destroyers in service.

Export Controls

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department made of the impact of the proposed secondary orders for the Export Control Act 2002 on the security of UK military personnel deployed abroad.

Adam Ingram: Proposals are being considered on measures to ensure that the efficiency of our armed forces is maintained when the Act is implemented.

Intangible Assets

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what specific assets are contained in the line item Intangible Assets on the MOD balance sheet for 31 March 2002.

Adam Ingram: The specific assets included in Intangible Assets at 31 March 2002 can be classified into the following main headings:
	(i) Development expenditure incurred in respect of fighting equipment and other tangible fixed assets which are in use
	(ii) Development expenditure incurred in respect of fighting equipment and other tangible fixed assets which are in the course of construction
	(iii) Other intangible non-financial assets comprising mainly intellectual property rights.
	The development costs, which mainly represent costs incurred prior to the commencement of production of the asset, are capitalised in the accounts in accordance with the HM Treasury Resource Accounting Manual. The Department's accounting policy on capitalisation and amortisation of the development expenditure is stated in the Departmental Resource Accounts 2001–02.
	The detailed analysis of tangible and intangible fixed assets is produced every three years in the form of the National Asset Register, the current publication being in respect of 1999–2000. This publication does not require the break down of the development expenditure in respect of assets in use by individual assets, but the range and type of assets in use by the Department are identified. At 31 March 2002, development expenditure for fixed assets in use amounted to £11.4 billion. Similarly, development expenditure relating to assets in course of construction is not analysed by asset type, but the main projects under construction are identified in the 1999–2000 National Asset Register under Assets In Course of Construction. At 31 March 2002, this development expenditure totalled £8 billion. Other intangible assets amounted to some £80 million as at 31 March 2002.

Iraq

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of British unexploded munitions in Iraq have been cleared; and when this work will be completed.

Adam Ingram: United Kingdom and other coalition armed forces and non-Governmental organisation teams have been engaged in explosive ordnance disposal tasks since before the end of the conflict in Iraq. It is not yet possible to say either what percentage of British unexploded munitions have been cleared or when all the work will be completed. To date, UK and other coalition explosive ordnance disposal teams in the UK area of operation have completed over 1,500 tasks and destroyed over 500,000 individual munitions. Those munitions include not only those dropped or fired by coalition forces, but also many from the Iraq-Iran war as well as mines laid, ordnance fired or dropped, and stores of ammunition and other ordnance left by Iraqi military and paramilitary forces.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much ordnance was released by British aircraft over Iraq in (a) February and (b) 1 to 20 March; on how many occasions during these periods coalition aircraft were responding in self-defence; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much ordnance has been released in each month by coalition aircraft over Iraq since 21 March; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 11 September 2003
	During February, five weapons were released by United Kingdom aircraft over Iraq. A further four weapons were released in the period 1–19 March. All of these weapons were released in self-defence. Warfighting commenced on 20 March. In the period 20–31 March, United Kingdom aircraft released 518 weapons over Iraq. A further 396 weapons were released from 1–30 April. UK aircraft dropped no ordnance after 30 April. Weapons released by other coalition partners' aircraft during the warfighting is a matter for them.

Iraq

Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the duties of Dr. David Kelly were.

Geoff Hoon: Dr. Kelly was a special adviser to the Director of Counter Proliferation and Arms Control within the Ministry of Defence. Dr. Kelly's duties have been described in both written and oral evidence to the Hutton Inquiry which has been published on its website at www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 7 May, Official Report, column 724W, what the current usage of British medical assets in Iraq is.

Ivor Caplin: As at 1 September, 23 beds were occupied at MND (SE) field hospital by United Kingdom personnel and two beds were occupied at the UK medical facility in Al Amarah.

Iraq

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institution in Iraq (a) during the recent conflict and (b) post-conflict.

Adam Ingram: The NAAFI has played an important role both during, and after, the recent conflict in Iraq. The organisation entered Iraq soon after the fighting started, offering a range of products from mobile containers. Now, NAAFI stores are located in more permanent facilities, which will continue to be upgraded over time.

Joint Strike Fighter

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many joint strike fighter aircraft have been ordered.

Adam Ingram: None. Our current planning assumption is for 150 of the Short Take Off and Vertical Landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft to meet our requirement for a Future Joint Combat Aircraft. In order to align with the US acquisition cycle, we do not expect to place orders for JSF aircraft before 2006.

Land Rovers

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured Land Rovers have been sold off as surplus since May 2003.

Adam Ingram: No surplus armoured Land Rovers have been sold by the Ministry of Defence since May 2003.

Manning Control Review

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers subject to Manning Control review have been (a) discharged and (b) re-engaged in the last 12 months.

Ivor Caplin: No individuals have been discharged under Queens Regulations for the Army paragraph 9.413, 'Not required for a full Army career', in the last 12 months.

Manning Control Review

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether soldiers in Army units are being warned that they could be subject to Manning Control review after (a) nine and (b) 12 years.

Ivor Caplin: Each potential soldier, and the parent or guardian of a recruit under the age of 18, is given a copy of the Notice Paper, a statutory document which gives details of the soldier's Terms of Service. Within this paper it states that a soldier's future employability will be reviewed after six, nine and 12 years' Colour service and he or she may be discharged if their service is no longer required.
	Additionally, soldiers being considered for discharge by Manning Control points are sent a letter up to 18 months beforehand. They are asked to sign a certificate to agree that they have been warned about this.

Manning Control Review

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to allow soldiers who were subject to Manning Control and then changed to S/Type contract, to sign back onto the open engagement.

Ivor Caplin: There are no plans to allow soldiers who were subject to Manning Control Point discharge, and subsequently employed on a Short Service Type S Engagement, to be engaged on the Open Engagement.

Manning Control Review

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers who were subject to Manning Control and were discharged or signed on to the S/Type contract and subsequently discharged since 1994 have been called up for service in UK operational deployments in the last seven years.

Ivor Caplin: Twelve individuals who had been subject to Manning Control since 1994 and then were discharged under Queen's Regulations for the Army 1975 Paragraph 9.413—'Not required for a full Army Career' or were signed on to an 'S'-Type engagement and subsequently discharged, have been called out for, and accepted into, military service in the last seven years.

MARS Project

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if all vessels for the MARS Project will be classed as warships; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) project is in its initial stages. Decisions have yet to be taken on the scope of the capability sought and on how best to deliver that requirement.

Offshore Patrol Vessels

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for (a) modernising the Royal Navy fishing protection fleet and (b) ordering further Tyne class offshore patrol vessels; for what reasons plans to transfer Anglesey, Lindisfarne and Guernsey have been delayed; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: A programme of modernisation of the Royal Navy fishery protection fleet is currently under way. The capability provided by the five Island Class vessels is being replaced with three modern and more capable River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs). The first two, HMS Tyne and HMS Severn, have now entered service. The third, HMS Mersey, is currently scheduled to enter service early next year. Unsolicited proposals have been received from two companies; however, the Ministry of Defence currently has no plans to order additional OPVs.
	The five surplus Island Class vessels have been sold to Bangladesh. Angelsey's transfer has been delayed by about two weeks due to problems with her gearbox. There has been no delay to the planned transfer of Lindisfarne and Guernsey.

Service Personnel (NHS Treatment)

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on service personnel getting priority NHS treatment; what budget is available for private treatment for service personnel; and whether all service personnel are eligible for prompt medical treatment.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 4 July 2003
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 1 September 2003, Official Report, columns 897–98W.

Territorial Army

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes there have been in the strength of the Territorial Army in the last six months.

Ivor Caplin: Available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			 2003 Strength 
		
		
			 1 March 39,210 
			 1 April 38,140 
			 1 May 38,370 
			 1 June 38,040 
			 1 July 37,650 
			 1 August 37,360 
		
	
	Note:
	Data have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Type 23 Frigate

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis), of 10 February 2003, Official Report, column 516W, on Type 23 frigates, if he will name the second six Type 23 frigates to be fitted with Sonar 2087; what plans there are for the remaining four frigates; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: It is not currently planned to select for another year or so the second six Type 23 Frigates likely to be fitted with Sonar 2087. The remaining four Frigates will continue to contribute to Royal Naval operations until the end of their scheduled service life, around the middle of the next decade, from which point they will be progressively withdrawn.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Ambulance Response Times

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average ambulance response time was in each year since 1997 in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) North Down; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service does not report average ambulance response times on a Northern Ireland or parliamentary constituency basis. Ambulance performance is assessed against national response time standards. In Northern Ireland these are applied as follows:
	ambulance at the scene of 50 per cent. of 999 calls in 8 minutes
	ambulance at the scene of 95 per cent. of 999 calls in 18 minutes (eastern area); or 21 minutes (northern, southern and western areas).
	The results for each area are as follows:
	
		Percentage of calls at scene within 8 minutes
		
			  Northern Southern Eastern Western 
		
		
			 1998–99 48 47 55 62 
			 1999–2000 46 45 59 56 
			 2000–01 47 42 63 56 
			 2001–02 47 41 57 53 
			 2002–03 47 41 57 53 
		
	
	
		Percentage of calls at scene within 18–21 minutes
		
			  Northern Southern Eastern Western 
		
		
			 1998–99 95 94 96 95 
			 1999–2000 95 93 97 94 
			 2000–01 94 92 97 94 
			 2001–02 93 92 96 94 
			 2002–03 93 92 96 94

Bangor Community Hospital

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funds have been made available to Bangor Community hospital (a) in 2001, (b) in 2002 and (c) since January.

Angela Smith: The information sought is not centrally available. The Bangor Community hospital, as part of the Ulster Community hospitals trust, derives the bulk of its income from the Eastern Health and Social Services Board. The trust accounts do not, however, distinguish between the income received by the Bangor Community hospital and that received by the rest of the trust.

Belfast City Airport

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with residents' groups regarding the possible introduction of late-night flights at Belfast City airport.

Angela Smith: I have had no discussions with residents' groups regarding the possible introduction of late night flights at Belfast City airport. The Department of the Environment's Planning Service has not received any request from Belfast City airport to alter the terms of the existing planning agreement governing flight times to and from the airport, nor has Belfast City airport indicated that they intend to make such a request.

Brain Banks

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many brain banks (a) exist and (b) have existed in Northern Ireland; and where.

Angela Smith: One brain bank currently exists in Northern Ireland. This is held within the Neuropathology Department of the Royal Group of Hospitals. No other brain banks have previously existed in Northern Ireland Trusts.

Brain Banks

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what relationship with mainland (a) hospitals and (b) research facilities brain banks in Northern Ireland have had.

Angela Smith: A brain tissue bank exists in the Neuropathology Department of the Royal group of hospitals. The Royal have been involved in joint research or diagnostic projects, involving the transfer of tissue samples, with the following facilities:-
	National MS Brain Bank, London;
	Schizophrenia Research, Oxford Medical School, Oxford University;
	National Unit for Research into CJD, Edinburgh;
	National Parkinson's Disease Society, London;
	Netherlands Brain Bank, Holland and
	MS Research Project, Dublin.
	All organs and tissue samples involved have been consented for use in research.
	No other brain banks exist in Northern Ireland Trusts.

Broadband

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to provide broadband internet access in areas of Northern Ireland where there is no broadband provision; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) has developed a range of complementary initiatives designed to progressively develop telecommunications infrastructure in Northern Ireland, stimulate demand for broadband, and develop broadband applications to both support its innovation driven economy and to ensure everyone has the opportunity to use computers to enhance their daily life.
	The Government's aim in Northern Ireland is to have 100 per cent. coverage of broadband services. To progress this aim, DETI published in the European Journal on 7 May 2003, a Prior Information Notice indicating its intention to issue a tender for the provision of broadband services. The tender was issued on 22 July 2003 and a total of 27 organisations and consortia have responded to the call to assist us to advance the Government's telecommunications agenda. I expect to announce the winner of the tender before the end of 2003.

Care Homes

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress being made by the inter-departmental working group established to examine the issue of free personal care for people in residential homes.

Angela Smith: The Northern Ireland Executive commissioned work on free personal care and a report was forwarded to the First Minister and Deputy First Minister on 8 August 2002. Following discussion at the Executive on 12 August, Ministers asked for further work to be undertaken. The inter-departmental group has reviewed a number of costed options that will be adjusted to current levels of provision at the time a further report is made to a new devolved Administration.
	It is not possible at this stage to give any indication about the timing or subsequent handling of the report, since this is a matter which should be determined by the Northern Ireland Executive.

Child Maintenance

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of those paying child maintenance in Northern Ireland have yet to be incorporated into the new system for calculating child maintenance introduced in April 2002; what steps he is taking to reduce this figure; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: The Government sought to reform the child support system to provide prompt, accurate maintenance calculations and quick, reliable maintenance payments. The introduction of the new scheme was delayed from April 2002, to allow further testing of the new IT system, and was introduced on 3 March 2003.
	It was always intended that the new scheme would be introduced initially for new cases only. Existing child support cases would transfer at a later date, when Ministers were satisfied that the new scheme, supported by the new IT, was working well. The exception to this is where an existing case is linked to a new application. In such circumstances the existing case is reassessed under the new scheme.
	A decision on the date when the remainder of existing child support cases will transfer to the new scheme has not yet been made.

Civil Service

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to implement the Senior Civil Service Review.

Ian Pearson: Following Lord Ouseley's report on the Review of Appointment and Promotion Procedures in the Senior Civil Service in Northern Ireland, the devolved Administration issued a consultation paper. This sought views on two key recommendations—the recommendations on recruitment in the open market and on work-life balance—and on an action plan covering the remainder of the 25 recommendations made, excepting two which were outside the responsibility of the devolved government. The recommendations have naturally required particularly careful consideration in the light of suspension, but I anticipate that we shall be in a position to make an announcement shortly.

Community Police Officers

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many community police officers are in full-time service with the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and how many served in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002.

Jane Kennedy: The Police Service of Northern Ireland currently record officers engaged in community policing duties under the title neighbourhood police. The table sets out the actual number of regular and full-time reserve neighbourhood police in service for the period 2000 to 2002.
	
		
			  Regular Full-time reserve 
		
		
			 4 September 2000 367 103 
			 3 September 2001 288 97 
			 4 September 2002 415 147 
			 4 September 2003 482 161

Congestion Charges

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce congestion charges for cities and towns in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Chief Executive of the Roads Service has written to the hon. Gentleman. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

Crime

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures have been taken since 1997 to tackle (a) organised crime, (b) smuggling and (c) drug crime.

Jane Kennedy: The Organised Crime Task Force which I chair was established in September 2000 to set the strategic direction for a multi-agency approach to tackling smuggling, drug crime and indeed organised crime in all its forms.
	While the law enforcement agencies have always worked well together at an operational level, and both PSNI and Customs had undertaken tremendous work to tackle all areas of organised criminality prior to September 2000, the Task Force has co-ordinated and focused their efforts to increased effect.

Crime (International Co-operation) Bill

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland about the Crime (International Co-operation) Bill.

Paul Murphy: I have had no specific discussions with the Chief Constable on the Crime (International Co-operation) Bill. However, the PSNI have been involved in the consultation process throughout the various stages of the Bill.

Cross-border Health Care

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients from the Republic of Ireland have been treated in hospitals in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The total number admissions classified as an in-patient, day case or regular day/night admission at hospitals in Northern Ireland where the patient was recorded as a resident in the Republic of Ireland is given in the table. Patients may have been admitted on more than one occasion.
	
		The number of deaths and discharges(11) in NI hospitals recorded as residents of the Republic of Ireland for the years 1998–99 to 2002–03(12)
		
			  In-patient Day cases Regular day admission Regular night admission Total 
		
		
			 1998–99 946 340 0 0 1,286 
			 1999–2000 1,000 377 559 0 1,936 
			 2000–01 1,070 604 995 0 2,669 
			 2001–02 1,037 554 850 1 2,442 
			 2002–03(12) 1,170 504 650 0 2,324 
		
	
	(11) Deaths and discharges are used as an approximation for admissions.
	(12) Provisional.
	Source:
	Hospital Inpatients System
	Figures for the number of patients treated as out-patients or at accident and emergency departments are not available.
	Residents of countries within the European Union are entitled to treatment if they are taken ill while visiting another European Union state. Patients may also be transferred to another country under formal contractual arrangements between individual hospitals or health boards if the treatment required is not available locally. Consequently residents from the Republic of Ireland are sometimes treated in Northern Ireland and vice versa.

Departmental Under-spending

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures have been introduced in each Northern Ireland department to reduce budget under spend.

Ian Pearson: Northern Ireland departments have introduced a number of measures to reduce the level of budget under spend. These include enhanced information and monitoring systems, improved arrangements to monitor the progress of expenditure on capital investment projects, providing additional training for budget managers and reviewing, on an on-going basis, profiled expenditure against actual expenditure.
	At a more strategic level, the revised spending plans for 2003–04 to 2005–06, which I announced on 11 December 2002, included arrangements to set spending plans at a level which exceeded the total spending power available by building in under spend assumptions. Full details are set out in Section 2 of the Budget Document ("Building on Progress: Budget 2003–06").

Environmental Protection

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when sheep grazing will be permitted in the Inner Mourne mountains.

Angela Smith: The Chief Executive of the Water Service has written to the hon. Lady. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

EU Regulations

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many regulations originating from the EU have been implemented by his Department over each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Europe on 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 64W.

Euro Roadshow

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the events he plans to attend as part of the Government's euro roadshow.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury on 20 June 2003, Official Report, column 459W.

First-time Buyers

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to assist first-time buyers in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: A number of steps have been taken to assist first time buyers in Northern Ireland. The housing executive's house sales scheme has enabled over 100,000 tenants to become home owners and sales of housing executive homes currently account for over one third of all first time buyer transactions in Northern Ireland. The Department for Social Development also provides funding for the Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Housing Association which, through its equity sharing scheme, gives those on low incomes an opportunity to gain a foothold on the home ownership ladder and has, since its inception in 1978, helped over 17,500 participants to become home owners on an equity sharing basis, with over 13,000 of these eventually moving to full home ownership.

First-time Buyers

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce a purchaser's pack for potential first-time house buyers and sellers in Northern Ireland.

John Spellar: I have no plans at present to introduce a purchaser's pack in Northern Ireland.
	The proposal to impose a condition on house vendors to produce a home information pack for prospective purchasers is aimed at addressing specific problems in England and Wales by speeding up the home buying and selling process and making it more transparent and certain. Such problems are not prevalent in Northern Ireland, where many measures aimed at speeding up the process have already been implemented and further proposals continue to be developed. I will, however, continue to monitor developments as regards the home information pack with a view to determining whether there may be merit, at some time in the future, in introducing similar measures in Northern Ireland.

Growth Hormone Research

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether Northern Ireland has a facility to deal with growth hormone research.

Angela Smith: Growth Hormone Research is carried out at the Growth Centre at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and at the Regional Endocrinology and Diabetes Centre at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Hare Coursing

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the number of hares (a) coursed and (b) killed by coursing in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: No estimate has been made of the number of hares (a) coursed and (b) killed by coursing, in either organised events or informal coursing.

Health Staff

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to increase the number of operating department practitioners in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The recruitment of staff, including operating department practitioners, is a matter for individual Health and Social Services Trusts taking into account factors such as service needs and available resources. However, the Department has a role in ensuring that sufficient suitably qualified and trained staff are available to meet the needs of the health and personal social services. The supply of support staff, such as operating department practitioners, will be addressed through the Department's work force planning mechanisms.

Health Trusts

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much each health trust has spent on security measures in the last three years.

Angela Smith: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Hospital Procedures

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer of 9 June 2003, Official Report, column 700W, on hospital procedures, if he will estimate the cost to the national health service of the in-patient admissions of residents of the Republic of Ireland.

Angela Smith: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Housing

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many houses were sold through the Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Scheme in each of the last five years.

John Spellar: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Number of newCo-ownership participants Number of participants moving to full home ownership 
		
		
			 1998–99 578 539 
			 1999–2000 587 666 
			 2000–01 510 585 
			 2001–02 645 567 
			 2002–03 801 621

Housing

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the budgetary allocation to the Northern Ireland Co-ownership Scheme was in each of the last five years; what plans he has to improve the scheme's budgetary position; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: The funding available to the Northern Ireland Co-ownership Scheme in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			 Financial year Housing Association Grants Recycled receipts Total 
		
		
			 1998–99 3.60 7.40 11.00 
			 1999–2000 3.60 8.60 12.20 
			 2000–01 6.24 6.43 12.67 
			 2001–02 9.90 9.51 19.41 
			 2002–03 12.94 12.98 25.92 
		
	
	The scheme operates on the basis of grant aid from the Department for Social Development, in the form of Housing Association Grant, and recycled receipts from surpluses made on the sale of equity tranches to participants.
	Because of other demands on the housing budget it is becoming difficult to sustain funding from the Department for the scheme at the levels which have been seen in recent years. I will however continue to do everything possible to secure an adequate level of funding to allow the scheme to assist as many participants as possible.

Human Organs

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with whom responsibility lies for giving permission for (a) the removal of organs from deceased individuals and (b) the disposal of such organs.

Angela Smith: Before a hospital post mortem examination, which is carried out at the request of the doctor or family, the next of kin is asked to make a choice: whether to limit the post mortem or organs taken for further examination; whether to donate some or all of the organs and tissue samples for medical education and ethically approved research; whether to allow the hospital to respectfully and lawfully dispose of them; or, whether to have them returned for burial or cremation after investigations are complete.
	A coroner's post mortem examination, which is required by law, does not require the consent of the next of kin, although the family will be informed about it. When the post mortem examination has been ordered by a coroner, the next of kin will be told what organs have been retained. Once the post mortem report has been completed the next of kin will be contacted again by the coroner and asked how they wish these to be disposed of.

Human Organs

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recommendations of the Human Organs Inquiry have been implemented by hospitals in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: Work is ongoing to implement all 20 of the recommendations contained in the Report of the Human Organs Inquiry. The primary responsibility for implementing many of the recommendations does not rest with hospitals but with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. Trusts have been co-operating fully in implementing those aspects of the recommendations that fall directly to them.

Human Organs

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the procedure is for the return of organs to the families of the deceased.

Angela Smith: Relatives wishing to make enquiries about reclaiming organs that have been kept following either hospital or coroners' post mortem examinations before 2001, should contact the DHSSPS Human Organs Enquiry Line at telephone number 0808 800 8810. Coroners' cases are dealt with on an individual basis and the decision whether or not organs will be released is a matter for the coroner. The trained enquiry line staff can provide information, discuss relatives' concerns and advise about the support that is available. In line with the recommendations contained in the Human Organs Inquiry Report, this telephone enquiry line and the opportunity to reclaim organs and tissue samples currently in storage will no longer be available after November 2004.
	Further information about the enquiry line is available on the DHSSPS web site, which can be found at http://www. dhsspsni.gov.uk/hss/HOI/index.html. A DHSSPS public information leaflet entitled "Post Mortem Examinations and theHuman Organs Inquiry" is being distributed to every home in Northern Ireland over the summer. This leaflet can also be viewed on the above web page and explains how relatives can seek the return of organs and tissue samples.

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the publication of the Isaacs Report and its implications for Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Isaacs Report was commissioned from HM Inspector of Anatomy by the Secretary of State for Health and applies to England only. The implications for Northern Ireland of the recommendations of the Isaacs Report; will be considered by the steering group currently working on implementing the recommendations contained in the Report of the Human Organs Inquiry.
	In Northern Ireland, the Chief Medical Officer has issued an Interim Statement on 9 May 2003 on the use of human organs and tissue pending the introduction of new legislation. Since November 2002 a telephone inquiry line operated by the Parents Advice Centre on behalf of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has provided a central point of information for public inquiries about post mortem examinations and has helped with requests for the retention of organs and tissue kept after post mortem examinations. It has also dealt with a small number of enquiries resulting from the Isaacs Report.
	The Chief Medical Officer has sought assurances from Trust Chief Executives and University Vice Chancellors that no additional or undeclared material has been retained following coroners' post mortems.

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will initiate an investigation by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Anatomy into missing organs in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: In May 2001 the Chief Medical Officer reported on the result of her investigation into retained organs in Northern Ireland hospitals. This revealed the continued retention of organs from 1,167 cases. Queen's University conducted a further audit in 2002, which revealed additional material held by the University, which was then declared. There is no evidence to suggest that there is a need for further investigation.
	Organs kept from coroners' post mortem examinations can only be disposed of once the investigations are complete or when the material is no longer required for evidential purposes.

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland under what circumstances the organs of deceased individuals on the UK organ donor register are prevented from being given to other patients.

Angela Smith: Organ donation may not be carried out if there are medical contra-indications, if the deceased does not die on a life support machine, or if the deceased is not on the organ donor register and relatives are unsure of the individual's wishes.

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the locations in Northern Ireland, apart from Queen's University, Belfast, where banks of retained brains and hearts are stored.

Angela Smith: There are no heart banks in Northern Ireland.
	All retained organs were declared in the Chief Medical Officer's report on Organ Retention, May 2001.
	In relation to brain banks, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 25 June 2003. (121606).

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the medical practice of removing and retaining additional organs from individuals who have agreed to donate particular organs on their death.

Angela Smith: During the organ donation procedure no additional organs or tissues have been removed other than those to which the families have stated their lack of objection on the UK Transplant form entitled "Statement of Lack of Objection to Organ/Tissue Donation".

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide help and support to relatives of deceased people whose organs have been retained improperly.

Angela Smith: The Department funds the Relatives Reference Group, chaired by Mrs. Pip Jaffa, OBE. The Relatives Reference Group provides help and support to relatives and also acts as a contact point between relatives and the DHSSPS, Queen's University, the Northern Ireland Office and the NI court service.
	The DHSSPS Human Organs Inquiry Line, set up by the Department on 20 November 2002, provides a central point of contact for inquiries about post mortem examinations and organs and tissue that may have been kept as a result. It can provide information to relatives, discuss their concerns in confidence and advise them of the support that is available.
	The Parents Advice Centre, of which Mrs. Jaffa is the chief executive, is currently running a support group for people affected by organ retention issues. The Parents Advice Centre can also provide a counselling service for relatives through its project workers. Counselling is also available through the Health and Personal Social Services.
	The DHSSPS is currently engaged in a multimedia public information campaign as recommended by the Human Organs Inquiry report. A public information leaflet entitled "Post Mortem Examinations and The Human Organs Inquiry," which includes information on organ retention and organ reclamation, is being delivered to every home in Northern Ireland. The leaflet contains details of organisations that can provide help and support to relatives.

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to identify the deceased and their relatives in the cases of unidentified brains in storage at Queen's University, Belfast.

Angela Smith: No brains that are being held in storage by Queen's University can be identified as belonging to an individual or family. The brains that are being held are for purposes of medical education and are either those obtained from bodies donated under the Anatomy Order or those that have been anonymised and cannot now be traced back to any individual or family.

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the export of brains from Northern Ireland during the 1990s followed Government guidelines on the risks attributed to CJD.

Angela Smith: During the 1990's the guidelines from the National CJD Unit in Edinburgh were followed when brain tissue was being exported. These national guidelines continue to be followed when brain tissue is being exported.

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland where Queen's University will source the brains they need each year for medical and scientific research.

Angela Smith: Such material is obtained from individuals who donate bodies or organs for medical research under the Anatomy Order, or from post mortems where consent has been properly obtained. In addition, consented material may be acquired from officially sanctioned brain banks in the UK or elsewhere.

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) medical and (b) scientific reasons there are for removing and retaining spinal cords from deceased individuals.

Angela Smith: Spinal cords are retained for diagnostic purposes in relevant cases when it is neurologically or neurosurgically suspected that spinal cord disease may be present. It is also retained in cases of spinal cord injury to determine the type and extent of injury.

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many transfers (a) out of and (b) into Northern Ireland of retained brains and brain tissue have taken place in the last 12 months; and whether transfers have taken place outside the United Kingdom.

Angela Smith: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Human Organs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether payment is made for the transfer of organs, tissue and other materials between hospitals.

Angela Smith: No payment is made for the transfer of organs, tissue and other materials between hospitals.

Irish Hares

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of whether the Biodiversity Species Action Plan to double the number of Irish Hares by 2010 is likely to be achieved.

Angela Smith: The target to double the population by 2010 is one of three challenging targets contained in the Species Action Plan for the Irish Hare published in 2000.
	The Plan is based primarily on the need to increase the extent, and improve the quality, of habitats favoured by the Irish Hare. While there are specific plans in place for these habitats, demonstrable effects on hare numbers cannot be expected for several years.
	At this stage it is not possible to predict whether the target to double the population by 2010 will be achieved. Estimates of the Irish Hare population were made in 1997 and 2002 and suggested that the population remained stable between those dates. Further estimates will be made as the Plan progresses, but it should be recognised that the margin of uncertainty associated with these estimates is high, and the detection of population trends is therefore difficult.

Irish Hares

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has received the report on the status of the Irish Hare for the review of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: My Department has commissioned a study of changes needed to the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. The study is being carried out to complement aspects of the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy and local Species Action Plans. One of its objectives is to examine the case for changes in the legal status of certain species, including the Irish Hare.
	A draft report was received by the Department of the Environment on 30 June. It puts forward a number of legislative options in relation to the status of the Irish Hare. The final report is expected to make specific proposals. Before I consider whether to take these proposals forward, I will seek the advice of the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Group and the Department's statutory advisory committee, the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside.

Irish Language

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what changes have been made to the policy on the use of the Irish language in (a) the Department of Health and (b) the Department of Education in Northern Ireland since suspension of the devolved Assembly.

Jane Kennedy: There has been no change in either Department's policy on the use of Irish since the suspension of the Assembly. This is in line with the Secretary of State's decision on 9 December 2002 that Departments should maintain their existing practices with regard to the use of Irish and Ulster Scots. The position was reviewed subsequently and the Secretary of State agreed on 19 March that existing practices should continue for a further period subject to another review in September 2003.

Irish Language

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what costs have been incurred by the Department of (a) Health, Social Services and Public Safety and (b) Education as a result of their Irish language policy in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: The costs incurred by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in the last five years are as follows.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1998–99 nil 
			 1999–2000 17,604 
			 2000–01 61,261 
			 2001–02 119,823 
			 2002–03 107,500 
		
	
	The costs incurred by the Department of Education in the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1998–99 Nil 
			 1999–2000 2,928 
			 2000–01 10,461 
			 2001–02 18,074 
			 2002–03 16,339

Multiple Sclerosis

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer of 11 June 2003, Official Report, column 966W, on multiple sclerosis, how many sufferers of multiple sclerosis have commenced (a) beta interferon and (b) glatiramer treatment in Northern Ireland since 1 January.

Angela Smith: Since 1 January 2003 20 patients have commenced treatment with (a) beta interferon and one patient has commenced treatment with (b) glatiramer.

Neurosurgery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on Early Day Motion 1382 (Neurosurgery in Northern Ireland).

Angela Smith: Pressures on the neurosurgery service have arisen mainly as a result of a need for more theatre time, and shortages in experienced nursing staff. This is not a problem unique to Northern Ireland—there are similar problems with this service throughout the NHS.
	The Royal Group of Hospitals, in liaison with the four boards, has been working hard to improve the situation, both in the short-term, and with regard to the longer-term development of the service.A task force was established by the trust to lead the effort in addressing the problems faced by the service;
	Extra theatre lists have been introduced;
	A twin-track approach to enhance the recruitment and retention of nurses has been implemented to restore nursing levels and enable more beds to be opened. This has involved:
	the appointment of a 'clinical educator' to enhance training
	opportunities and to support and increase the number of nurses in training; and
	the recruitment of additional nurses, allowing the phased opening of beds from June 2003, with all beds re-opening by January 2004.
	A clinical careers framework for nurses has also been launched to improve opportunities for personal development and career pathways;
	In addition, treatment has been provided for some suitable patients in units outside Northern Ireland.
	These measures should make a significant contribution to addressing the problems in this service. I have asked my Department, in liaison with the boards and the trust, to keep me apprised of progress.

Nurse Recruitment

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nurses have been recruited in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: Figures are provided in the tables.
	
		Bank nurses (13) who have been recruited to work in trusts in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997 (headcount figures given only)
		
			 Trust 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 1 19 0 5 3 9 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 2 5 3 8 7 14 
			 Southern Board HQ 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust Unable to provide 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 1 20 16 7 37 41 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 26 37 35 22 33 26 
			 Blood Transfusion Service 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 26 31 35 45 23 21 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 11 11 7 9 8 8 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 6 8 17 34 17 38 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 20 10 32 32 29 29 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 33 23 22 32 55 39 
			 Regional Medical Physics Agency Not applicable 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 27 53 45 24 14 27 
			 Royal Hospitals 12 3 32 31 19 22 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 14 12 21 9 14 9 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 4 13 3 7 15 18 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 0 0 0 0 14 72 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 27 25 22 8 14 14 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 4 0 3 1 2 4 
			 United Hospitals HSS Trust 15 9 15 32 15 14 
			 Total 229 279 309 306 319 405 
		
	
	(13) Bank nurses are staff who cover for staffing shortfalls and fluctuating workloads in order to maintain service delivery
	
		Non-bank nurses (14) who have been recruited to work in trusts in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997 (headcount figures given only)
		
			 Trust 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 26 44 41 18 48 59 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 5 11 10 10 14 25 
			 Southern Board HQ 0 0 1 1 0 1 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 144 114 195 225 141 312 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 30 165 81 115 144 191 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 47 75 54 58 34 77 
			 Blood Transfusion Service 1 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 96 86 72 80 81 63 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 22 23 35 28 34 22 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 20 37 98 82 46 110 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 81 71 150 189 248 333 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 39 62 59 57 105 102 
			 Regional Medical Physics Agency 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 40 26 46 42 60 36 
			 Royal Hospitals 160 191 253 281 289 341 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 74 111 71 39 63 92 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 25 19 22 16 51 30 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 26 27 18 30 38 47 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 84 61 85 66 72 84 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 13 24 36 21 48 85 
			 United Hospitals HSS Trust 107 103 93 120 74 82 
			 Total 1,040 1,250 1,420 1,478 1,591 2,094 
		
	
	(14) Bank nurses have been excluded from these figures—they cover for staffing shortfalls and fluctuating workloads in order to maintain service delivery

Organised Crime Taskforce

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding has been made available to the Organised Crime Taskforce since its introduction in September 2000.

Jane Kennedy: With the exception of an annual publicity budget of £50,000 to meet the cost of publishing the annual Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF) Threat Assessment and Strategy Documents and to promote the role of the OCTF, no specific funding has been allocated to the Organised Crime Task Force. Costs for administering the OCTF are met from the overall resources allocated to the Security Policy and Operations Division of the Northern Ireland Office. Individual constituent members of the OCTF are responsible for funding their involvement from within their overall organisational budgets.

Police Recruitment

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the 50:50 recruitment procedure to the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on police recruitment.

Jane Kennedy: The Police Service of Northern Ireland continues to attract a very high number of applicants: over 27,500 have applied over the course of the five competitions held since the 50:50 recruitment procedures began. As a direct result of 50:50 recruitment, the proportion of Catholics in the PSNI has increased from 8 per cent. at the time of the Patten Report to 13.3 per cent. as of 1 September this year.

Police Recruitment

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to increase the representation of (a) females, (b) ethnic minorities and (c) those with disabilities on district policing partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Schedule 3 to the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 sets out how the appointments of political and independent members to District Policing Partnerships (DPPs) are to be made. District councils are responsible for the appointment of political (elected) members. Councils were required to ensure that the political members of the DPP reflected the balance of the parties prevailing among the members of the council, immediately after the last local government election.
	The responsibility for the appointment of independent members lies with the Policing Board. A widespread advertising campaign and public information evenings were used by the Policing Board to encourage applications.
	In addition, approaches were made to several thousand community groups to promote the interest from potentially under-represented sections of the community including females, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. To facilitate those with disabilities, the application form was produced in Braille, audio and large print.

Police Recruitment

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of (a) Roman Catholics and (b) Protestants have been unsuccessful in their applications since the 50:50 recruitment policy started for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Jane Kennedy: Details of the number of unsuccessful applicants to the Police Service of Northern Ireland since the introduction of 50:50 recruitment are as follows:
	
		
			  Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Catholic applications 9,823 35.6 
			 Catholic applicants unsuccessful 9,342 95.1 
			 Non Catholic applications 17,727 64.4 
			 Non Catholic applicants unsuccessful 17,284 97.5 
		
	
	The figures are based on the total number of applications received in the five competitions held so far i.e. they will include more than one application from some individuals. As not all of the competitions have been completed there may be some minor changes to the numbers over time.

Police Reserve

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officers are serving in the Police Service of Northern Ireland full time reserve; what their expected future length of service is; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: Unfortunately it has not been possible to collate the information requested in the requested time-scale. I will reply to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.

Police Service

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the impact of the Force Order issued by the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 25th March on access to police exercise facilities for retired police officers;
	(2)  who has responsibility for day to day security management at police exercise facilities across Northern Ireland; and whether retired police officers will have to be vetted in order to gain access to such facilities;
	(3)  what action the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland has taken with regard to retired police officers having access to police exercise facilities in Northern Ireland;
	(4)  if he will make a statement on why retired police officers in Northern Ireland have no access to police exercise facilities in Northern Ireland; and if he will take action to remedy this.

Jane Kennedy: The General Order referred to seeks to regulate access to exercise facilities in PSNI establishments for both security and health and safety considerations. The Order outlines the separate circumstances and procedures applicable for 'Employee' and 'Guest' access to such facilities. Retired Police Officers fall into the category of 'Guests' and as such will be required to apply for 'Guest Status' as outlined in the General Order.
	The Chief Constable has responsibility for security at Police establishments. Any individuals who fall into the 'Guest' category will require security clearance. No exceptions are made to this vetting process. Retired Police Officers with 'Guest Status' will have access to police exercise facilities at eight major sites listed in the PSNI General Order.

Primary/Secondary Education

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 100W, what the publicly declared positions are of each member of the working group on a form of selection in the transfer procedure for pupils from primary to secondary education.

Jane Kennedy: I am not aware of any publicly declared positions of members of the Working Group in favour or against a form of selection in the transfer procedure for pupils from primary to secondary education.

Prisons

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many self-inflicted (a) injuries and (b) deaths there have been in Northern Ireland prisons in each of the past five years; and what action the Government is taking to reduce these figures.

Jane Kennedy: The information is as follows:
	
		(a) Self-inflicted injuries
		
			  Number of self-inflicted injuries 
		
		
			 1998–99 89 
			 1999–2000 70 
			 2000–01 90 
			 2001–02 98 
			 2002–03 146 
			 2003 to date 53 
		
	
	
		(b) Self-inflicted deaths
		
			  Number of self-inflicted deaths 
		
		
			 1998–99 1 
			 1999–2000 3 
			 2000–01 3 
			 2001–02 Nil 
			 2002–03 (15)— 
			 2003 to date (16)— 
		
	
	(15) Two deaths in custody awaiting Coroner's inquest.
	(16) One death in custody awaiting Coroner's inquest.
	Action Government taking to reduce these figures
	A review of policy and practices for dealing with prisoners at risk has recently been completed by the Northern Ireland Prison Service. This takes a holistic approach to providing the necessary support and care to prevent the individual harming him or herself. It includes an initial assessment on reception to prison, Samaritan services, listener schemes, an anti-bullying policy and improved structures, systems and procedures. This will include a multi-disciplinary case conference being held, leading to the development of a care plan for those at risk. This policy is due to be implemented by December 2003.

Recycling

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce a doorstep recycling service in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy, published by the Department of the Environment in March 2000, provides a framework for developing waste management practices to increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. A key element of the Strategy is the preparation of Waste Management Plans by District Councils. Plans covering all of Northern Ireland are currently being implemented and are geared towards achieving a primary target set out in the Strategy of recovering 25 per cent. of household waste by 2005.
	The Plans were adopted following extensive public consultation throughout each district council area. They set out the full range of activities and facilities to be put in place to provide a recycling service, taking account of the needs and circumstances of individual councils areas. These activities and facilities to be put in place include a mix of kerbside collection for individual households, home composting schemes and the development of new and enhanced civic amenity sites and recycling centres. Under its Waste Management Grant Scheme, the Department provides significant financial assistance to district councils to assist with the cost of implementing the Plans. The Scheme commenced in April 2001 and up to March 2003 some 20 Councils used the assistance for the purchase of bins to enable householders to segregate waste for recycling.

Remicade

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the availability of Remicade to NHS patients in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The medicine Remicade has been prescribed in Northern Ireland since November 1999 for a number of health service patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis who have failed to respond to existing drug therapies. The use of Remicade for the treatment of an individual patient is a matter for clinical judgment and is the individual responsibility of the prescriber. The decision is taken by a hospital consultant in collaboration with the patient, having discussed with him or her, the risks and benefits of treatment.
	An extra £3.1 million for the provision of specialist drugs, including those for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, was allocated to Health and Social Services Boards in the last financial year. This has now been uplifted for inflation and has been provided on a recurrent basis, All four Health and Social Services Boards have made a commitment to ensure an equitable approach to the management and reduction of waiting lists for expensive specialist medicines for arthritis and other conditions as one of the Priorities for Action 2003–04.

Road Resurfacing (Killeen, Newry)

Seamus Mallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what the final cost was of the recent work to resurface the section of the Newry/Dundalk Road at Killeen, Newry;
	(2)  whether the contract for the resurfacing of the section of the main Newry/Dundalk Road at Killeen, Newry was awarded to the lowest tender;
	(3)  what the lowest tendered price was for the recent resurfacing of the section of the main Newry/Dundalk Road at Killeen, Newry.

Angela Smith: The Chief Executive of the Roads Service has written to the hon. Gentleman. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

School Exclusions

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children were excluded from school in 2001–02.

Jane Kennedy: During the 2001–02 school year, 61 pupils were expelled and 5,096 pupils were suspended.

Sexual Offences

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to make male against male rape an offence in Northern Ireland.

Paul Murphy: Article 18 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 makes it possible for rape victims to be men and boys.

Sexual Offences

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will abolish the penalty for consensual heterosexual anal intercourse in Northern Ireland.

Paul Murphy: Article 19 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 provides that anal intercourse is not an offence if it takes place in private and both parties are 17 years or over.

Sports Funding

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in what circumstances (a) Exchequer and (b) Lottery funding may be granted to prepare competitors in (i) hockey, (ii) athletics, (iii) cycling, (iv) swimming and (v) equestrianism to compete for Ireland against British teams or individuals at Olympic Games or World Championships.

Angela Smith: No Exchequer funding is allocated to help prepare competitors for specific international events. Exchequer funding is solely designed to provide for a range of general sports development needs.
	The only Lottery funding designed to assist Northern Ireland's leading sportspeople to prepare for competition at international level is through the Sports Council's Talented Athlete' programmes.
	All athletes granted Talented Athlete Lottery funding for Hockey, Swimming and Equestrianism, if selected for major international competition, would compete for Ireland. This is because the local provincial clubs are affiliated to All-Ireland Governing Bodies. However, those in receipt of Talented Athlete Funding, who compete in Athletics orCycling, given the make-up of their governing bodies may compete for either Ireland or Great Britain if selected for international competition.

Telecommunications Masts

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultation has taken place on new legislation in respect of telecommunication masts.

Angela Smith: Following the publication of the Stewart Report, the Department of the Environment issued a consultation paper in November 2000 on the subject of planning control for telecommunications development. The consultation paper proposed various options for changing the existing telecommunications planning regime, and put forward a draft Planning Policy Statement for consideration.
	As a result of that consultation process, the then Minister of the Environment brought forward legislation which introduced a requirement for full planning permission for all new telecommunications development, including alterations and extensions. This process also led to the Department's new Planning Policy Statement 10: Telecommunications, which was published in April 2002, and takes full account of the precautionary approach advocated in the Stewart Report.

Traffic Cones

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what the cost of placing and retrieving traffic cones on Northern Ireland roads and motorways was in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what proposals his Department has to improve the safety of placing and retrieving traffic cones on Northern Ireland roads and motorways;
	(3)  how many people have been (a) injured and (b) killed, placing and retrieving traffic cones on Northern Ireland roads and motorways in each of the last three years.

Angela Smith: The Chief Executive of the Roads Service has written to the hon. Gentleman. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

Health Service (Taxi Costs)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid to private hire taxi companies by each trust board in each of the last four financial years; and what the criteria are for the use of private hire taxis by trust boards.

Angela Smith: The information required for the years 1999–2000 to 2002–03 is as follows:
	
		£
		
			 Trust 1999–2000 2000–2001 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Altnagelvin 7,809 9,877 13,137 23,804 
			 Armagh and Dungannon n/a n/a (17)100,000 (17)104,000 
			 Belfast City Hospital 155,674 92,632 146,800 146,800 
			 Causeway 29,506 42,356 (17)124,342 (17)124,342 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community 94,267 124,599 116,000 118,000 
			 Craigavon Area Hospitals 132.80 172.20 4,846 5,008 
			 Down Lisburn 253,618.07 313,841.07 314,049.49 370,826.97 
			 Foyle 141,887 150,200 146,800 146,800 
			 Green Park 3,657.58 7,153.45 5,675.15 7,474.95 
			 Homefirst 222,596 240,996 (17)265,000 (17)265,000 
			 Mater Hospital 7,079.88 10,404.72 9,992.25 16,027.61 
			 Newry and Mourne 111,609 116,091 107,921.75 134,990.72 
			 Ambulance Service 0.00 0.00 0.00 (18)4,282 
			 North and West Belfast 140,814 166,030 (17)176,794 (17)233,460 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals 14,366.86 21,681.57 228 1,086 
			 South and East Belfast 150,358 181,820 186,216 201,368 
			 Sperrin Lakeland 91,962 156,619 211,923 217,824 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals 44,005 55,020 55,738 74,599 
			 United Hospitals 64,396 73,129 84,241 94,986 
		
	
	n/a = Not available
	(17) Estimated
	(18) Renal dialysis patients
	A Regional Transport Manual for the HPSS was produced and issued by the Department in June 1998. In relation to the use of taxis it states clearly that their use should be strictly controlled in order to minimise costs. Trusts have to ensure that when taxis are used to support fleet operation for regular or ad hoc work, that there are proper management protocols and monitoring arrangements in place.
	Trusts must have mechanisms in place to ensure relevant directors are notified of expenditure on taxis. Also taxi services obtained from commercial taxi companies are subject to a process of tender through Regional Supplies Services.

Unsolved Murders

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress with the investigations of unsolved murders of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and army personnel in the County of Londonderry in 1972.

Paul Murphy: I understand from the PSNI that a Major Crime Review Group is being established to address the issue of unsolved murders. Inquiries regarding its progress are a matter for the PSNI.

Water Service

John Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how many Hippo Bags have been issued in Northern Ireland; and how many have been installed in domestic and commercial premises in each of the last 12 months;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of (a) the savings possible from water leakage and water efficiency measures and (b) the capital spending required by the Department of Regional Development and its Water Service for new water capacity;
	(3)  if he will list, for each of the last 12 months, the progress made by the Department of Regional Development's Water Service in reaching its water efficiency and leakage reduction targets;
	(4)  if he will undertake a review into how the Water Service manages leakages in Northern Ireland; and if he will make an assessment of how far a stronger and more robust programme for energy efficiency in domestic and commercial premises would reduce wastage;
	(5)  what the (a) rainfall in Northern Ireland and (b) the capacity of each of the reservoirs was in each of the last 12 months; what the capital building programme for water was in each month; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what recent measures have been undertaken by the Water Service in Northern Ireland (a) to reduce domestic water leakages and (b) to improve domestic water efficiency.

Angela Smith: The Chief Executive of the Water Service has written to the hon. Gentleman. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

Welcome Signs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many signs welcoming people to Northern Ireland there are (a) along the border with the Republic of Ireland and (b) on other main roads; and what estimate he has made of the cost of these signs.

Angela Smith: The Chief Executive of the Roads Service has written to the hon. Lady. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.